One Of A Kind
by loch.ness.princess
Summary: At seven years old, Nessie is fully grown and ready to be acknowledged as such. Unfortunately, between her doting family and an unfamiliar coven, adulthood and normalcy both seem a long ways off.
1. Not Quite the Same

**A/N: thank you for reading! No copyright infringement intended.**

Renesmee lolled in the Cullens' sunny backyard, pulling up handfuls of grass and rolling her name around in her mouth.

"Ruh-_nez_-may," she was murmuring absently. "Ruh-_nez_-may _Car_-lie. Ruh-_nez_-may _Car_-lie, _Car_-lie Ruh-_nez_-may, Ruh-_nez_-may _Car_-lie _Cull_-en."

Peals of laughter echoed around the house. Drat. She hadn't been speaking very loudly—in fact, she had barely been making any noise—but her family had heard her nonetheless.

"Very good, Nessie, you know your name!" Emmett called. Renesmee could see the back of his head through the open window. She briefly considered hurling a rock at him; she was a decent shot, and it would be painfully easy to hit a target that big. Her slim fingers curled around a stone that had rolled away from Esme's garden.

She did not throw it. Emmett wouldn't mind having a rock collide with his skull, but, because she was the youngest and weakest in the family, there would be a friendly beating waiting for her. It was all in fun, but still. A mock pounding by Emmett was not how she wanted to spend her day off. It almost hadn't been a day off. Her inconspicuous shimmer wasn't about to stop traffic, so there was really nothing keeping her from going to school. She was allowed to stay home on the condition that she behaved herself. It really wasn't fair—everyone else had a free ticket to wreak as much havoc as they desired, but she was constantly on parole.

Still, there wasn't any real point in complaining. A day on parole was still a day off. Renesmee wasn't too fond of high school. She didn't know how her siblings could stand to go to it year after year. Maybe it was a full-blooded vampire thing.

Renesmee half-smirked—_full-blooded vampire_, when vampires didn't have pulses. An oxymoron. Ha ha. _It's a lack-of-blood thing_, she amended.

She sat up in the grass to watch her lack-of-blooded family walk out the door. Edward, Bella, Jasper, and Emmett were all filing out of the house. It looked like Bella was off for another fighting session. Even though their last brush with the Volturi had been almost seven years ago, Bella had been unable to let go of the nagging paranoia that she would not be able to defend herself properly. Perhaps it was the side effect of having been wrapped up in vampire affairs when she was just a human, but Bella liked to know that she was well-prepared for whatever might come her way. As the best fighter in the family, Jasper had been commissioned to teach and drill her. Edward, afraid that some harm might come to his wife, always went along—and Emmett just liked to watch and laugh. He would sit on the sidelines, cracking jokes about the world's clumsiest vampire and urging Jasper to stop going easy on his "little sister."

Renesmee watched the four of them walk off—although, in fairness, _walk_ seemed a bit of a misnomer. When they moved, it was more of a _glide_. It was like they were on a semi-frozen surface—just slick enough to give their movements fluidity, but not so slippery that they moved perfectly.

They also glittered. Renesmee looked down at her own exposed arms. There was no sparkling there. There was a subtle glimmer, but, in fairness, it wasn't that conspicuous. Most humans wouldn't even notice. Her mood dropped a bit. It was silly, really, but she wanted to sparkle like a full-blooded –_lack-of-blooded_, she corrected quickly—vampire. Her family always told her that she was special. One-of-a-kind. Instead of being solely mortal or immortal, she was a breach between the two worlds. Even her _name_ was a bizarre conglomeration. _Renesmee Carlie Cullen_. She shook her head, frustrated. Why did she have to be so unique? Why had she been born special?

Renesmee pushed the sleeves of her t-shirt up over her shoulders and stretched her glimmering arms out as far as they would go. She wiggled her fingers, sending barely-visible cat's-eyes bouncing off the house. _Cat's-eyes_. If she could produce those, then her sparkles couldn't be that inconspicuous.

Then Alice wandered out of the house, and Renesmee knew that her shimmer, no matter how pretty, could not compete with the flat-out blinding quality of a pure vampire's skin.

That could be fixed. Renesmee hopped up off the ground and ducked into the house.

**A/N: sorry about the short chapter; I'll update soon. Please review!**


	2. Glitter Girl

**A/N: another short chapter. Sorry. They'll start to lengthen soon. Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Edward, Bella, Emmett, and Jasper had gone to the east to practice fighting, so Renesmee ran to the northwest. The last thing she needed was to be seen by those particular people. Edward would worry and become moody. Bella would fuss over her and do her best to convince her daughter that she was unique in a good way. Jasper wouldn't be a problem –he rarely probed people about their feelings, preferring to let them come to him—but Emmett would be a nightmare. His idea of making people feel better was to tease them mercilessly; theoretically, humor minimized the mess. Emmett's real problem was that he approached every obstacle the same way—as something to be either beaten or mocked into submission.

Renesmee ran, keeping an even pace and steady breath, until she came to a small clearing in the trees. It was a small, flat, fairly nondescript area. It was also secluded; it was unlikely that anything would be coming her way, with the exception of wildlife. Perfect.

There was a small patch of sunlight in the clearing. Renesmee stepped into it and pulled a slim jar from her pocket. It was full of silvery-white food-grade glitter—glitter so fine that it could be ingested without any gastronomic disasters. It had been in Esme's kitchen cupboards. She had probably been unable to resist buying it when she had last gone on a prop-shopping expedition to the grocery store.

Renesmee flipped open the cap and shook a small pile of glitter into her palm. It was so fine that it billowed in miniature clouds above her hand. Perhaps it would be easier to just shake the glitter on? No, that would be wasting.

She shut the jar's lid and smoothed the handful of glitter onto her forearm experimentally. Her arm shimmered with renewed vigor. That was good. Renesmee poured another handful of glitter and applied it to her skin. Two layers of glitter. She was sparkling properly now. Well, maybe just another layer...

— — —

Twenty minutes later, Renesmee was finally satisfied with her skin quality. She had poured glitter liberally over both arms and her feet (she had run away from the house without shoes. No matter. Her skin was hard enough that it could not be punctured by an errant twig). She could not see her face or throat, so there was no point in putting too much glitter on those; still, she had done it.

Renesmee stood in the patch of sunlight, admiring her handiwork and ignoring the tiny voice in her head—the voice that was berating her for not liking herself as she was.

"Oh, shut up," she muttered impatiently, knocking at the side of her head as though that would help. A shower of loose glitter fell slowly to the ground.

"Now look what you made me do!" she cried, gesturing at the grass, which was now glimmering faintly. More spangles fell from her arm. Renesmee scooped up the jar from where it was lying and shook a slew of sparkles onto her arm. Brilliant. Not only was she pouring food-grade glitter onto herself, she was talking to the voices in her head. Arguing with them, even. And they were arguing back!

She was only seven years old, and her mind had snapped.

Well, actually, she was about seventeen in every way—but she had only been alive for seven years. Whatever. Her real and technical ages didn't matter. The point was that she was too young to go crazy. She would reconsider insanity when she was about two hundred. In the meantime… forget it!

To distract herself from her impending insanity, Renesmee took a long, slow breath through her nose, feeling her lungs ballooning with the recently inhaled air. It wasn't often that the earth was not sopping wet. The air smelled warm and dry and even a little dusty. She could smell decomposing wood, new plants, various small animals… and the scent of something warm and very familiar. She cringed. The wolves were in the area—doubtlessly headed right towards her. She was not in the mood to answer awkward questions, like, "Why are you dumping glitter on yourself?" She turned on her heel and ran, leaving a small cloud of glitter in her wake.

Unfortunately, she ran right into a giant, sandy wolf. Drat. Seth. He looked at her with large, questioning eyes.

Renesmee ducked to the right. He blocked her. She moved to the left. He followed. She turned to run back, but he jumped right into her path.

"Seth!" she yelled impatiently. "Stop it!"

There was a hoarse, hacking sound. He was laughing at her. Renesmee dashed to the side, and this time Seth did not follow. Nice to see that he was learning to take orders from someone other than—

She skidded to a halt. Oh, speak of the Devil, and he shall appear. Jacob, who was in his human form and wearing his cutoffs, was watching her. Usually, he smiled when he saw her; not this time. Uh-oh.

Renesmee decided to go for the _nothing-weird-is-going-on_ approach. "Hi, Jacob! What's up?"

He just raised an eyebrow at her.

Renesmee slapped her best innocent face on. "What's the matter? Is something going on?"

"Something might be." Dang. He was playing along with her. It was only a matter of time until he brought up the glitter thing.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's not every day that you find empty jars of food-grade glitter just lying around in the forest." Renesmee's gaze flicked down. Yep—the empty jar was in Jacob's massive hand.

"Huh," she said lightly. "Fancy that. Food-grade glitter jars. Well, littering is a bit of a problem nowadays."

"Except that pretty much no one comes out here."

"Well," said Renesmee, scrabbling for some way to explain away the jar, "you never know where your trash will end up, do you?"

"It didn't just wander out here by itself," Jacob pointed out dryly.

"Um, well… it might have. I mean, between one thing and another, stuff can travel a long way from where it was originally—"

"Nessie," Jacob interrupted flatly, "why did you cover yourself in glitter?"

"What… makes you think I did that?"

"It's everywhere." Jacob gestured to her. "All over your clothes. In your hair. On the grass. On Seth."

Renesmee looked guiltily at Seth, who snorted and shook himself, trying to dislodge the spangles. A few flakes of glitter fell to the ground.

"You'll probably have to wash it out," Renesmee told him apologetically. "It's not much," she added helpfully. "No one would notice."

"Whereas you'd have to be blind not to notice the stuff all over you," Jacob commented. Renesmee flushed.

"Okay, fine, so I sparkle a bit more than usual. So what?"

Jacob motioned to Seth, who sighed and loped off lazily. Oh, no… Jacob had sent Seth off. That meant that he wanted to have a talk with her. She was in trouble.

"Uh…" Renesmee's voice died in her throat. She was being stupid and she knew it. Pathetic, really—smearing herself with glitter. She shuffled her feet in the dirt.

When she looked up, she was relieved to see that Jacob wasn't laughing at her, nor was his face melting in pity. That would have been the final straw.

"Nessie," he said slowly, "what's going on? What's the matter?"

"Nothing!"

"If it was really nothing, you would be using your talent to talk to me."

He was right. Renesmee didn't talk if she could help it. It was so much easier to communicate by thought.

"Fine," she huffed, knowing that he had cornered her. She walked over to him and placed a sparkling hand on his cheek.

"Much better," he said. "So, I'll ask again: what's going on here, Ness?"

* * *

**A/N: reviewers get complimentary glitter. You know you want glitter.**


	3. Nothing Special

**A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Renesmee took her time in answering. Well, this was what she deserved for dumping glitter on herself. That was practically begging for attention. But she still didn't want to have to answer any questions. That was why she had run far from her house.

Jacob let her dither without any sign of impatience. The tiny part of Renesmee that was not begging the earth to swallow her up was grateful for it.

She eventually, grudgingly, showed him a picture of herself with golden eyes, sparkling so violently that she was almost blinding.

Jacob looked more than a little concerned. "You wanted to be all sparkly like the other bloodsuckers? Why?"

Renesmee's eyes narrowed as she produced an image of herself surrounded by her doting "bloodsucker" family.

"Sorry," he said, and it was clear that he really was sorry. "I meant: did you want to be all sparkly like the rest of your family?"

Renesmee nodded sheepishly.

"Why?"

An image of herself standing next to her family. Instead of sparkling, she shimmered and glowed, the faint pink tinge in her skin giving her a more healthy appearance than her pale family. The image had a distinct note of disgust.

Jacob looked surprised. "Why? I like the glowy look."

"I know," she said impatiently, sending pictures flashing across his vision. The images slurred together in her frustration. Herself, a vampire, the Cullens, baseball, hunting, the whole vampire population, the Volturi, a crowd of two-hundred-year-old vampires laughing and cooing, a baby, and, finally, herself sitting on top of the world by herself.

Jacob processed the images for a moment and finally said, "Okay, I think I got all that. You feel pathetic next to your family because you have limits that they don't. You know you aren't quite like all of the other vampires, and you're sick of being told that you're unique in a good way because it makes you feel alone. And you feel that you'll never be taken seriously because you'll always be the baby of the family. Did I get everything?"

Renesmee nodded. It was nice to have a confidant. Her family would find out eventually, but for the time being, her outburst was a secret.

Jacob ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "You get that a lot, don't you? The whole 'you're special' thing."

She nodded, reproducing the picture of herself sitting on top of the world by herself, hugging her knees to her chest disconsolately.

"Technically, you are not the only one in the world," he pointed out. "There are other half-vampires out there." He motioned at the ground. "Sit down, kid. We need to talk."

Renesmee sat heavily, glitter flying everywhere. "I'm not a kid."

"You're only seven." He grinned.

She shot him her best death glare. Rosalie had taught her how to kill with a single look, among other things.

"Sorry," he said, instantly serious. "Let's talk."

Renesmee buried her face in her sparkling hands. There was a silence.

"Nessie?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright? Aside from the things that are obviously wrong, I mean."

"Peachy." Renesmee snorted and then began to show him all the things that were wrong with her. Herself, sleeping. Blood pumping through her veins, a little heart that thrummed like a bird's. Two large brown eyes that never changed color. Snacking on solid food. Tiring after running for hours on end. Not sparkling.

"Aww, Nessie," he said worriedly. "You don't need to be Super Half-Vampire."

"But I want to be!" she wailed. "It's like I'll never be adequate. And I know that everyone loves me anyways, but it's kind of bad for my self-confidence, being surrounded by people who are way better at everything than I am."

"Maybe you should hang out with a new crowd for a bit," Jacob suggested.

Renesmee showed him two question-touched images: one of herself, leaving her family far behind, and the other of Jacob in a straitjacket.

"No and no," he replied calmly. "You don't have to leave your family, and I'm not crazy. Don't take this the wrong way, Nessie, but I think you're more like the wolves than you are like vampires."

A question mark.

"Look at it this way. You're strong, fast, and carnivorous. But at the same time, you aren't so abnormal that you can't go in public unnoticed. Being half-and-half can be advantageous."

"Not helping," she said dully.

"You also," Jacob continued, ignoring her, "can't force yourself to just keep going and going. You have your limits. They aren't human limits, but they still hold you back from time to time. Kind of like me. I need to stop for food occasionally, too."

"Occasionally?" Renesmee showed Jacob an image of himself constantly stuffing his face. "More like, always."

"Running with the pack burns a lot of calories," Jacob said defensively. "And it's not like anyone else is going to eat the food in your fridge."

Renesmee presented a memory of herself eating the meat that was perpetually in the Cullen's refrigerator. Last night's dinner had been raw ground beef, which she had eaten straight from the package front of the TV, as though it were popcorn. Her family had taken turns sampling it, only to spit it out in exaggerated disgust. It had been a waste of food, but very amusing.

"Um, okay, gross."

An image of himself eating raw meat, followed by a frowning cartoon hippo, which Renesmee used to say _hypocrite_. Her reasoning behind this was that if one split the word into two, one got _hippo_ and _crit_, which sounded like _critical_. Hence, a frowning hippo would be a critical hippo, and from there one could get to _hypocrite_. Shaky logic, maybe, but she had not been able to think of anything better, and it conveyed the point effectively.

"True. Anyways, the point is that there's nothing wrong with not being Super Half-Vampire. Personally, I find invulnerability unattractive."

"I just get tired of being so different."

"You're not all that different."

"I know. But I'm not the same, either. Sometimes being special really sucks."

"Yeah, I know," Jacob said soothingly. "So, can I do anything?"

Renesmee shook her head. "Not that I can think of."

There was a silence. Finally, Jacob said, "Look, Nessie…"

"Yes?"

"If you're worried about being pushed aside as a kid forever… maybe you should talk to your parents."

Renesmee looked alarmed, and then discouraged. "What would make them take me seriously?"

"They'll listen," Jacob said insistently. Renesmee nodded but privately thought that it would be stupid to try. She was only seven, after all.

"And as for feeling like you're all alone in the universe…" Jacob's mouth twisted, and Renesmee knew that he was going to say something to lighten the situation. She braced herself for a minor insult.

It came. Jacob said, still smirking slightly, "Your kind may not be common, but you aren't the only one out there. So don't let Rosalie turn your head too much, okay? She may think that you're special, but the rest of us know that you're just the Loch Ness Monster."

Renesmee raised an eyebrow in an ironic _thanks a lot_ gesture. In reality, she really was thankful.

"Anytime. Now, let's find a way to get that stuff off of you." Jacob started to dust the glitter off of Renesmee's arm. It flew everywhere in sparkling clouds.

"I think I'll have to wash it off," Renesmee moaned, brushing at her arm experimentally. A few pathetic flakes came off.

She buried her face in her hands, blushing furiously though the layers of glitter. "If Emmett sees this, he'll never let me live it down."

"He won't see it," Jacob reassured her. "We'll find a way to sneak you in."

Gratitude washed over Renesmee. She reached out and hand and touched Jacob's face gently, showing him her appreciation.

"Again, anytime." Jacob took a halfhearted swipe at Renesmee's other arm, sending glitter flying. He let his hand trail down her arm to her wrist, which was adorned with a small woven bracelet that had grown faded and grubby with age.

"Do you wear this much?" he asked suddenly.

Renesmee put her hand back to his burning cheek and showed him a clock, the hands of which were moving at an unusually fast rate so that they moved all the way around the face of the clock. Twenty-four hours. She wore the bracelet all the time.

"Oh." Jacob inspected the pattern in the bracelet and then let it drop casually. "Just curious."

Impulsively, Renesmee showed him a series of faces. The gossipy girls at school often whispered about her bracelet behind her back. Ironically, they whispered so that she would not be able to hear, when she in fact could hear their every word.

Jacob raised an eyebrow, looking a little concerned. "Why? What do they say?"

"Nothing too rude. Nothing out of the ordinary. They usually just want to know if you're my boyfriend. But they're too intimidated to ask."

"What do you do?"

Renesmee smirked broadly and showed him a picture of herself wandering the hallways with the Cullens, a group of murmuring girls behind them. As they walked, Renesmee suddenly veered off to fling her arms around Jacob's neck, squealing.

"I wondered why you did that so much," Jacob said, looking amused.

"Well, I wouldn't want them thinking that you're up for grabs, would I?" Renesmee went a bit pink even as she spoke and decided that now was a good time to change the subject. "I think we'd best go back to the house so that I can wash off this glitter."

"Okay," Jacob said. "How's this for a plan: we'll take you home, you can wash off the fake sparkles, and then we can go for a run with the pack or something non-vampire-ish. You need a break from your perfect family."

She showed him Bella and Edward's frowning faces.

Jacob just snorted. "I don't care if they won't like hearing that. You need a break."

"All right," Renesmee chuckled. "We can escape the perfect family—under one condition."

"What's that?" Jacob asked suspiciously.

Renesmee smirked and showed him a picture of her riding a giant brown wolf. She wanted a ride.

"I am not a pony," Jacob said flatly.

"Please?"

He shook his head.

Renesmee flung her arms around his neck, pouting as well as she knew how. "Pleeease? Pretty pretty extra please?"

"Fine, whatever," he said gruffly. "I'll be right back." Jacob jogged away to transform. Renesmee flicked at the glitter on her arms, trying to get the worst of it off. It was nice to have someone like Jacob around. He was just so… nice. The rest of the family didn't like the smell, but Renesmee didn't mind it. It was actually quite pleasant. But that was probably just her human side speaking.

A low rumble sounded, not far off. Jacob, having morphed into his wolf form and returned, tilted his head to the sky. Thunder.

"Hmm," Renesmee intoned. Jacob kneeled to allow her to climb on. She swung a leg over his back and settled herself behind his shoulder blades, knotting her fingers in the hot fur.

"Don't go back to the house, Jacob," she said aloud, her sentences hitched as she thought out her plan. "It looks like it's going to rain soon. With any luck, we can avoid Emmett altogether. Just run wherever you want to. I don't care."

Jacob swung his massive head in a "yes" gesture.

"C'mon, then." Renesmee smirked and dug her heels into his ribs, as though he were a horse. Jacob turned his head to glare at her, and she could almost hear him yelling, "I am not a horse!"

"Okay, okay, sorry. I take it back. I take it all back. Now let's go!"

Jacob huffed impatiently and leapt forward, Renesmee clinging to his back and smiling.

* * *

**A/N: reviewers get a pony ride. Or a werewolf ride. You choose.**


	4. Cloud Watchers

**A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Jacob carried them a long ways, but it was without real direction. He turned corners abruptly and would pause occasionally, swishing his long tail as he tried to predict where the storm clouds would go. Then Renesmee would show him a picture of where they were headed, and Jacob would leap forward, chasing the rain so that Renesmee would not have to risk humiliation by Emmett.

It was in another clearing, one far larger than the one that they had met in, that they finally caught up with the rain. It was falling in slow, fat, heavy drops—_splot, splot, splot_ on the leaves. Renesmee dismounted and settled herself cross-legged in the wet grass. There was really nothing to do but sit around until the glitter had been washed off.

Jacob settled down on the grass and Renesmee leaned against him. The rain was a bit chilly –unlike the rest of her family, she was aware of the cold—but Jacob's fur was thick and warm. She was tempted to just fall asleep while leaning against him. She had done it before, as a child, and he had never minded.

She settled a hand on Jacob's giant head, showing him a picture of herself as a child, fast asleep next to him. It was tinged with a question. _Do you remember this?_

He nodded, exposing large white teeth in a canine smile.

Neither of them stirred for some time. Renesmee let her hand rest on Jacob's head, playing her thoughts to him. She wasn't thinking anything private, so it didn't matter that he could see everything that she thought. She was only observing things: the rain, the trees, the sky. They were pretty.

Jacob raising his head and tilt his nose towards the sky. He took a long breath and sighed contentedly.

Renesmee nodded, cracking a brief smile, and showed him another question-tinged image of puffy clouds settling into recognizable shapes. She wanted to know what he could see in the clouds.

He gave her a look that read, _you are so weird_.

She nodded and showed him a picture of a giant cotton ball.

Jacob suddenly rose and Renesmee crashed to the ground. She watched him jog off into the trees in silence. A moment later, he was back as a human, hopping awkwardly as he looped the black cord that he used to carry his cutoffs around his ankle.

"A giant cotton ball?" he demanded, laughing. "You have no imagination."

"What do you see, then?" she demanded aloud as he flopped down on the grass next to her.

"A mass of suspended water and ice particles," he replied, smirking.

Renesmee scoffed, placing her hand back on his collarbone so that she wouldn't have to bother speaking.

"Okay, fine," he said dryly. He paused, and finally said, "I see… high-quality drawing paper—the kind with lots of cotton in it. Better?"

"Much." Renesmee lay back on the wet grass and stared up at the sky. "I see… I see the sound of a very small waterfall going over a very large cliff." Jacob, who was propped up on his elbows, looked at her.

"Nessie, why are you speaking out loud? I can hear your thoughts."

Renesmee made a small, murmuring sound as she shrugged, showing Jacob a plethora of giant black question marks. "I feel like talking. It's so quiet otherwise. I feel left out of the conversation, that's all."

He looked at her again. "But… you never talk if you can help it."

"I know. But I'm willing to speak to you."

"I'm flattered," he said, lying down. Renesmee kept her hand at the base of his throat. He smiled at her and took her hand from his throat, holding it in his own. Although it would require a greater effort, Renesmee could still transmit mental messages if she cared to.

"Jeez, your hand is freezing."

"Not my fault," she mumbled. "It's cold out."

"No, it isn't."

"Not to you," Renesmee said crossly.

"Point taken. Sorry."

"S'okay."

Pause.

"So, Ness, what else do you see in the clouds?"

"…The fabric of that white dress that Alice just bought."

"Or the mainsail of an old ship. The _Mayflower_, maybe."

"And the stuff that polarfleece is made from—all soft and fluffy. Brand-new polarfleece."

"Alfredo sauce," Jacob murmured distractedly.

"Alfredo sauce?" Renesmee wailed, raising her head from the grass to look at him. "You are so unromantic."

"I'm sorry," he said, not sounding sorry. "I didn't realize that I was supposed to be thinking romantically."

"I mean Romantic with a capital 'R,'" Renesmee explained quickly, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "Think about it: waterfall sounds. Mainsails. Blank sheets of paper. Those are all very poetic things—and then you have to start talking about Alfredo sauce!"

"Alfredo sauce can be very poetic," Jacob countered. "Haven't you ever tried Emily's cooking? Edible art."

Renesmee showed him Emily's face, which was small and blurry next to Edward's.

"No way!" Jacob cried. "Edward's cooking is not better than Emily's!"

A picture of Seth flashed across Jacob's vision. He snorted. "Oh, like Seth's opinion counts."

Renesmee showed him a sequence of images—Emily, himself, Sam, a werewolf, a vampire, Edward. Fortunately, Jacob had had enough practice to know what she meant.

"I am not just saying that because I'm a werewolf and Emily is on our side," he said crossly. "I mean it. Edward's cooking smells funny."

A vampire.

"Yeah, exactly," Jacob agreed, settling back into the grass. "It smells like a vampire made it. It's gross."

Renesmee propped herself up on one elbow to watch Jacob. Her thoughts were touched with concern and curiosity.

Jacob cracked open one dark eye. "What's up, Nessie?"

She didn't reply. Some things were best said without words. For some reason, Jacob had seemed _different_ to her lately. She had started to notice more about him—the small mannerisms, the way that his copper-colored skin was so dark compared to the rest of her family's. She had never really thought about it, but he was rather good-looking. She had gone hunting with him enough times that seeing him shirtless was a relatively normal sight, but lately she had begun to really appreciate it. And his eyes never shifted color—they were always dark. She found that strangely appealing; there was something about not having kaleidoscope eyes that made him seem more grounded, steadier than her family, even though she knew that he was prone to angry outbursts while her family was not.

It was not only Jacob's physical features that she had begun to take note of; she often found herself dwelling on his personality as well. Even though he couldn't always control his temper, it wasn't his fault; hardly any of the wolves, with the possible exception of Seth, had complete control over their emotions. Knowing this, he was always careful around her, keeping his temper under close control for fear of hurting her. Jacob had always gone out of his way to make her a little happier when he could—he would walk with her between classes at school, take her hunting, and aggressively defend her against any onslaught. He had always _been there_ for her. The phrase sounded clichéd even in her head, but it was the truth. Her family tended to make fun of it, saying that his devotion to her was a doglike tendency (ha ha), but it was nice to know that her best friend would never turn his back on her.

Jacob, who was listening to her telepathic ramblings, watched her carefully but did not speak. He did not seem very surprised. Perhaps Alice's imagination had run away with her, and she had been telling anyone who would listen about Nessie's newfound affections for Jacob. She had been extremely excited during the past week or so; that would explain away her behavior. That would explain everyone's behavior, come to think of it. All of the Cullens had been mildly excited for several days now, as though they were gearing up for something.

She showed him a picture of himself talking to Alice, accented with a question mark.

He shook his head. "Nope. I haven't talked to any of your family. Wondering why they're all so excited?"

She nodded.

"So am I. Want to go back and find out?"

"Not really." Renesmee's shoulders slumped a bit. Now that she had been told that she needed to get away from her family, she realized that Jacob had been entirely correct—she did need a break. Pack life was starting to look evermore appealing, even though she would _really_ be the odd one out if she was surrounded by shape-shifters.

She sat up and inspected her arms. They were largely glitter-free. "I think I look normal again."

"Alright," Jacob said, standing up. He wiped the rain from his face and looked over at Renesmee. "Shall we go back to the house, then?"

"I guess," she muttered. "So much for running away to join the pack, huh?"

"Tomorrow," he promised.

Jacob disappeared for a few minutes before trotting back into the clearing, wagging his tail contentedly. He nudged Renesmee's shoulder and then knelt on the grass next to her.

"Seriously?" Renesmee showed him a picture of her riding him, tinged with a question. She had been asking a lot of questions lately.

He nodded.

Twice in one day. She scrambled onto his back eagerly and he began to run towards the Cullen's large, imposing house.

* * *

**A/N: whose cooking is better? Leave a vote in your review!**


	5. Anniversary

**A/N: kind of a short chapter. Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

About half a mile from the Cullens' house, Jacob stopped running and recoiled. Renesmee sniffed. The air was quite sweet-smelling—more than it usually was. There were visiting vampires.

They approached the house cautiously. The rain was still falling heavily, so everyone was inside. There was a lot of talking and laughing, as if there was a party in process.

Renesmee dismounted and mounted the porch steps. Jacob reappeared a few seconds later and stood protectively at her side, his nose wrinkled against the smell.

"What the heck is going on here?" he asked, bewildered.

Instead of replying, Renesmee turned the doorknob and opened the door slowly. Someone on the other side jerked it open.

It was Alice. She looked indignant. "There you are!" she cried. "Where the heck have you been?"

Renesmee showed Alice a picture of herself and Jacob running through the trees.

"Running with the pack," Alice said, exasperated. "I should have guessed. Well, at least you're here now. Everyone's _dying_ to meet you."

"What?" Renesmee was so startled that the word popped out even as she showed Alice her shock.

"Come _on_!" Alice dragged her niece into the house. Jacob trailed after her warily.

When they turned the corner to the living room, it was to find the room packed with the vampires that had come to testify on the Cullens' behalf seven years ago. They all laughed and clapped as Renesmee entered.

"Here she is," Alice said, glowing with pride. "The little hybrid that caused so much trouble—all grown up!"

Renesmee could feel her face coloring. How could she have missed the signs? It was always so obvious when Alice was planning a party—she and Esme went into a sort of cleaning and decorating hysteria. This was an absolute disaster.

She smiled nervously and waved at the crowd.

"How are you, Ness—Renesmee?" someone called.

Renesmee shrugged one shoulder—a noncommittal answer. "It's just Nessie," she whispered. She felt like a little girl put in the spotlight by her parents in front of all the dinner guests. Except that this was worse, because it wasn't just her parents—no, it was her entire family! Her whole _family_ was putting her on display, like some sort of trophy to be admired!

Alice, oblivious, squeezed Renesmee in a one-armed hug. "Yep," she said proudly. "This is our Ness—seventeen years old and prettier than ever!"

"Don't call me 'Ness,'" her niece snapped, suddenly forceful.

"Jacob calls you 'Ness' all the time," Alice said, a little defensively.

"Yeah, well… just don't do it, okay?" Renesmee looked at the floor, as though the puddle of water collecting around her bare feet was suddenly very interesting. Everyone was listening to their conversation intently, and it felt as though they were eavesdropping. Renesmee reached up to place a hand on Alice's face, showing her the crowd of vampires and a question mark and hoping that she would know enough to keep her voice down when she replied.

"Oh, come on!" Alice cried, sounding hurt. "I've been talking about this all week! How can you not know what's going on?"

Renesmee shrugged one shoulder again and showed her another question mark.

"I told you," Alice said, a little huffily. "Everyone who came to save us seven years ago is back for a We-Kicked-the-Volturi's-Butt party—and to see you all grown up. I know it's not the _exact_ anniversary, but this was the most convenient time. And almost everyone made it! See, we've got the Denalis, and the Irish coven, and Benjamin and Tia came all the way from Egypt, and then—"

She was shown an image of Renesmee.

"Yes, they came to see you!" she said in exasperation. "Don't you remember how taken everyone was with you?"

Renesmee nodded.

"Well, then," Alice said, as though that settled it.

"What's the matter, Nessie?" Tia asked curiously. She was settled comfortably on Benjamin's lap and watching Renesmee with large eyes. "Can't you talk?"

Renesmee nodded instinctively and then realized that nodding wouldn't prove anything. But she couldn't force herself to talk, so she kept her silence.

"Hey, it's okay," Garrett joked, trying to inject some levity into the situation. "We don't bite."

Everyone laughed at this. Renesmee felt her hands curling into fists. Didn't they get it? She wasn't interested in having everyone look at her. She wasn't a bug to be examined under a microscope. She wasn't that _special_.

A hot hand fell on her shoulder. Renesmee didn't bother to look up; only one person in the room had skin that was warmer than hers.

"Yeah, this is great and all," Jacob said roughly, "but we really need to go raid the fridge now. We're both starving." He pried Alice's fingers off of Renesmee's arm, much to Alice's annoyance.

Snickers and derisive snorts flickered around the room.

"I see the dog is still hanging around," Liam said, only half-jokingly. "I wondered what the smell was." Everyone laughed again.

Renesmee, fueled by a sudden burst of defensive anger, wrenched her wrist from Jacob's grasp and marched across the room, her bare feet hitting the floor with an almost comical noise. When she placed a hand on the side of Liam's face to show him something, it was almost a slap.

Liam, who had just seen the sequence of blurred, angry pictures, looked puzzled but not repentant. "Um, sorry, I only got about half of that. Could you run that by me again?"

Edward coughed. "What she said, Liam, was that the 'dog' has a name, and that he is her best friend, so cut it out. Well, more or less."

"Oh?" Liam said innocently. Everyone in the room thought that he was funny—he could play innocent as much as he wanted. "And what might the dog's name be?"

"His name is Jacob," Renesmee said tonelessly. "You know, that grand old Biblical name? Like, 'Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated?' It's Hebrew." She could sense her family's tension—this was a veritable speech for her.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to eat." Renesmee turned on her heel and marched towards the kitchen, catching Jacob's hand as she went.

* * *

**A/N: reviewers get a unicorn in the color of their choice.**


	6. Stupid Things

**A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Renesmee pulled a pack of ground beef from the refrigerator and flicked it open with a glossy blue nail. Jacob had ignored the mountains of "funny-smelling" leftovers, preferring to prepare himself a peanut-butter sandwich that had no "vampire germs" on it. He was devouring it as though it was the first food that he had seen in weeks.

The outside conversation was easily discernable though the kitchen door. Renesmee slapped the package of meat on the counter and began to roll lumps of meat into bite-sized balls.

"You've got a beautiful daughter there, Edward," Tanya was saying.

"Very pretty," Siobhan agreed. "But a little taciturn." There was more laughter. Didn't they ever stop laughing?

"Yeah, she's the family mute," Alice giggled.

"You'd be quiet, too, Alice, if you didn't need to talk," Edward scolded gently.

As if!" She snorted. "My big mouth demands to be heard."

"We're noticing," Benjamin chuckled.

"So why does the mutt follow her around all the time?" Charlotte asked curiously.

There was a brief silence. Renesmee could sense her family exchanging glances.

"I'll explain," Bella sighed, saving the rest of the family. "Or, rather, I'll try. When a werewolf imprints on someone, they become… tied to them. Jacob imprinted on Nessie; because of this, he instinctively does what's best for her. She's the most important thing in his life. Nessie's very lucky, actually; Jacob has been a sort of big brother/best friend figure to her for her entire life."

"But does Nessie have a choice about this?" Charlotte asked worriedly.

"It's not like that," Edward interrupted quietly. "Nessie has complete control over her fate. She isn't obligated to do anything. And Jacob would never force her into anything."

"So you approve?" Siobhan asked skeptically.

"We don't have much of a choice," Edward said dryly. "Nobody did. Imprinting just sort of… happens."

"It's too bad," Senna said ruefully, "that someone as unique and remarkable as Nessie should be tied to a… well, to one of those."

"It's the other way around," Bella corrected swiftly. Renesmee felt a stab of gratitude. Her parents were sticking up for her, at least. "Jacob is tied to Nessie. She can walk out anytime she wants to."

"I don't think she wants to," Garrett snickered.

"No, we don't think so either," Emmett chuckled, and everyone laughed. Renesmee was quite sure that steam was coming out of her ears, she was so angry. Didn't they know that she could hear every word? She moodily popped a raw meatball into her mouth.

Jacob's sour expression matched hers. He muttered something about leeches and, for once, Renesmee didn't have a reprimand for him.

"Well, at least they find you acceptable," he said drily. "They're falling all over themselves at how great you are." They paused to listen to the burble of conversation. _So pretty. And what a talent! Well, that's what comes of having talented parents. Such a unique child. No, not a child, not any more…. But still. One-of-a-kind. As if there could ever be anyone as special as her. Too bad that dog follows her everywhere. I wonder if there's something that could be done about that…? We could kill him! _Laughter. Renesmee sighed, disconsolate.

"Aww, c'mon, Ness," Jacob said cajolingly, draping a burly arm around her shoulders. "It's not that bad."

She put a hand to his face and showed him Alice.

"She just wasn't thinking," Jacob said. "She can't remember ever being put on display like that. You know she didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Renesmee nodded, rolling one of her raw meatballs around on the countertop. She had lost her appetite.

"I think I might be about to do something stupid," she said awkwardly.

"Then, as your resident werewolf, I think it is my duty to tell you not to." Jacob chuckled, not sounding concerned.

"Okay," Renesmee mumbled. "Consider your warning duly noted." She pushed Jacob's arm off of her shoulders and walked back through the kitchen door. Everyone looked up at her. Renesmee fended them off with a brief but cheerful wave before mounting the stairs two at a time. She walked swiftly into the bathroom and ran a towel over her damp hair. She needed to talk to Edward. He would be more receptive to her plight, since he, too, was technically seventeen. She wasn't looking forward to demanding more respect from her family, and especially not from her parents. But she had to grow up sometime—and now, while her frustration was fueling her, seemed like a good time to start.

She tossed the wadded-up towel onto the tile floor. No one would mind. Renesmee walked out of the bathroom but did not go back downstairs. Instead, she leaned back against the wall and began to shout mentally. _Hey! Hey, Dad! Would you come up here, please? We need to talk._

Moments later, her father had mounted the stairs, looking concerned. "What is it, Nessie?" he asked quietly, knowing that she did not want their conversation overheard.

Renesmee took a deep breath, and began to tell Edward what was on her mind though telepathy, which was quieter than speaking aloud and easier than stringing images together.

_Dad._ _Edward. We're technically the same age now. I can't be the baby forever. I don't want to spend the rest of eternity being treated as the little kid. I know you don't mean to do it. But it has to stop._

Edward nodded solemnly. "I know. Your mother and I have been discussing this…"

Renesmee's breath caught in her throat. _And?_

He shrugged. "And, nothing. You're right. You can start by calling everyone by their first names now. I'll talk to Bella, tell her you've spoken to me." He looked at her earnestly. "We can change this around, I promise. You won't be left behind forever."

Renesmee nodded, her throat a little dry. She hadn't expected him to acquiesce like that—but then, he had probably been hearing her moody thoughts for the past few weeks.

_Thanks_.

"I have a question for you, though," he continued. "And I'm afraid it's an awkward one."

She nodded again. _Shoot._

Edward looked very uncomfortable, but he continued. "Over the past few weeks I've noticed that your thoughts… well, I don't mean to eavesdrop, but they keep turning towards Jacob. Has something—"

"No!" Renesmee blurted. But then she realized that, as long as they were having this heart-to-heart, she might as well ease his mind… or prepare him.

_No_, she thought deliberately, _nothing has changed. Yet. But I have a feeling that it will soon_.

Edward tried –and failed—to hide a grimace. Renesmee was a bit annoyed.

_You've been dreading this for seven years, haven't you?_ she demanded.

"No," he said evasively.

_Yes_, she countered. _Edward, you've known that this was going to happen. You and Bella both. And I'm not going to fight whatever's coming. You of all people should know that we can't help falling in love, Mr. Married-To-A-Human._

"I know," he said, his features smoothing over. "I'm sorry. I won't say anything else."

Renesmee snorted. _Good luck with that. Now, you're ignoring your guests. You'd better go back downstairs._

"Technically, they're Alice's guests," he said lightly. "You know she can't resist throwing a party." He walked down the stairs quickly and joined the throng of laughing vampires.

Renesmee sat down on the top step, feeling a bit stunned. That had been so easy. She had braced herself for a condescending "don't-grow-up-too-fast" lecture. But then, why would Edward give her that talk? He was seventeen, too –technically, anyways—and he was a married father. He couldn't say anything without being a hypocrite. Renesmee pictured her frowning cartoon hippo with Edward's face and clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter.

Her thoughts were broken by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. She looked up to see Jacob mounting the steps.

"Hey," he said, sounding worried.

"Hey," she replied, not sounding worried in the least.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay."

"Did you do the stupid thing?"

"It didn't turn out to be stupid after all." Renesmee scooted over to the wall and patted the carpeting next to her. "Sit."

Jacob sat. "Are you okay?" he asked again.

Renesmee rested her chin in her hands, smiling serenely. "I'm okay," she repeated quietly. "Better than okay."

"Jeez. Did Jasper force you to have a mood swing, or what?"

"No," Renesmee said, chuckling a bit. "I'm just happy, that's all."

"And why are you happy?"

She placed a hand on his face and showed him a picture of herself speaking to Edward.

"Okay, so you talked to Edward. And?"

Renesmee removed her hand and smiled at him. It seemed silly to say that Edward had essentially told her that she could be an adult from now on. So she just smiled.

Jacob looked puzzled. "I don't get it, Ness."

"Oh," she said absently, "that's okay. It was nothing in particular."

"That's a lie."

Renesmee nodded and sighed contentedly. "I know. Just pretend to believe it, okay? I'll tell you later."

Jacob sighed, rolling his eyes skyward. "Fine. Comprehension can wait until another day." He pulled her into a rough one-armed hug. "At least you're feeling better."

She laughed softly. "Things are going to be changing, Jacob," she whispered.

"Like, you're going to keep talking aloud?"

"Yeah," Renesmee said, even though she did not intend to start habitually speaking. "And lots of other stuff, too."

"Like what?"

Renesmee didn't answer—she was pondering whether or not her next move would be a good one.

"Nessie?" Jacob waved a hand in front of her face. "You there?"

"I'm thinking about doing another stupid thing," she mused. "Should I do it?"

"Sure, why not?" he replied, sounding interested. "What is it?"

Impetuously, Renesmee leaned over and kissed him briefly. Jacob grinned at her and, below them, there was the sound of glass shattering. Edward's voice, a little flustered, rose above the low murmuring.

"Sorry," he was saying. "It's my fault, I'll get it—no, it's okay, I'll get it—"

"What happened?" Alice asked. "I've never known you to be clumsy."

"It's nothing," Edward said, still sounding rattled. "Someone just… thought something surprising, that's all."

He must have given Alice a telling look, because her voice was suddenly rising in pitch. "Wait—do you mean—" Pause. Then: "Omigod!" Alice's voice was shrill with excitement. "Omigod! Omigod!"

"What's going on?" Bella demanded, sounding frustrated.

"Nothing," Jasper said smoothly. Renesmee felt herself relax involuntarily as he forced everyone to calm down.

"Oops," she giggled.

"I just love how there is no privacy around here," Jacob joked, rolling his eyes. Renesmee couldn't help but to marvel at how easily Jacob had fallen into his new role of _boyfriend_. Imprinting was fantastic.

Jacob's eyes stayed skyward for a long time. When his gaze fell back to earth, however, he tensed, and the joking expression fell from his face.

"Uh-oh," he breathed.

Renesmee lifted her head and saw two heads poking around the stairwell. Alice was bouncing up and down on her toes, a tiny fist stuffed into her mouth to keep her from squealing any more. And Bella, who towered over Alice, was shooting them a death glare that would scare even Rosalie.

* * *

**A/N: review or suffer Rosalie's special death glare.**


	7. Right and Wrong

**A/N: another shortie chapter, in which Nessie has a complete spaz (beware the drama!!!). Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

"I'm _sorry_," Alice said for the umpteenth time. "I just wanted to see what was going on. You know my visions don't work around you two. I didn't realize that Bella was right behind me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Yes, thank you, Alice," Renesmee said tiredly. The whole Cullen clan was out in the forest, holding an emergency family meeting. They had managed to escape their guests by saying that they were out on a hunting trip; most of their guests did not adhere to a vegetarian lifestyle and had not accompanied them.

On the whole, Renesmee was finding the experience embarrassing. Everyone had always assumed that she would someday fall in love with Jacob, but Carlisle had still insisted on holding a conference so that everyone could voice their opinions—or, in several cases, vent their frustration.

"I cannot believe this," Rosalie was saying angrily. She had been pacing back and forth for fifteen minutes. "I just cannot _believe_ this."

"Can't believe what, Rosalie?" Renesmee asked irritably. Her patience was wearing thin, and Rosalie just wouldn't stop talking.

"I can't believe that you might possibly be in love with a _dog_!" Rosalie snapped. "If it was anyone else, okay, but _you_—"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Renesmee cried.

"Rosalie thinks of you as her daughter," Emmett said. His tone, although soothing, had a note of urgency; he wanted to avoid an altercation. "It's just maternal concern." He caught Rosalie's wrist. "Rose, stop pacing, you're making me nervous."

Rosalie glared at him but stood still.

"Alright, well, we've got Rosalie's opinion on this," Carlisle said calmly. "I don't want to drag this out, so: does anyone have something that they really need to say?" He looked around.

"Yeah," Renesmee said. "Why do we need to hold a freaking conference?"

"We just need to make sure that everyone is on the same page," Carlisle said, unruffled. "Everything is, of course, ultimately up to you."

Renesmee bit her lip. Brilliant. A chance for everyone to argue over something that they had no business in. So much for being an adult.

"I'm so excited!" Alice finally burst out. She had been dishing out apologies profusely all morning, and it was plain that she had been trying to contain this statement for as long as possible.

"We know," Rosalie snarled. Renesmee winced, sensing a fight in the near future. Time to intervene.

"Look," she said impatiently, stepping between Rosalie and Alice, "I appreciate that you all care about me, but this is my decision, and I need to make it myself." She looked pointedly at both of them. "I need to choose _on my own_."

"But you're choosing the _wrong thing_!" Rosalie sounded close to tears. Even though she knew that it wasn't the prudent thing to do, Renesmee snapped.

"Oh, would you quit trying to control me?" she yelled. "I'm not a three-year-old any more! I can tie my own shoelaces! I can hunt for myself! And I don't need you to dictate me!"

Rosalie froze. For a moment, Renesmee thought that she might actually get slapped, but, since Rosalie seemed incapable of speech, she carried on.

"You are not my mother!" she screeched, vaguely aware that everyone around her looked extremely shocked and upset. "I already have parents, and they are _plenty_ overprotective, thank you! I already have people trying to make me make all of the right decisions, but frankly I think that a screw-up or two would be good for me! If nothing else it would make me a little more _normal_!"

"What do you mean, _normal_?" Alice asked, looking wounded. "You are normal, Nessie."

"I'm _not_," Renesmee said, her insecurity finally bubbling over in frustration. Angry tears were gathering at the corners of her eyes, blurring her vision. "You know perfectly well that I'm a freak. You _should_ know—you love to show me off!"

"I don't—"

"You do. Whenever a vampire passes through, you turn me into some sort of circus sideshow." Renesmee raised her pitch in a cruel imitation of Alice. "'Oh, yes, this is my niece—a half-vampire, can you believe it? No, really!'" she squeaked, bobbing on her toes as she spoke. "And then you have to go into the whole long story about Bella and Edward, and eventually I come along and prove to be disastrous—"

"You weren't _disastrous_—"

"Yes, I was," Renesmee shouted, "and you just love to tell people about it! I nearly drove Jacob away. I nearly _killed_ Bella. I brought the Volturi down on our heads—"

"Irina did that," Alice protested. She was starting to look as upset as Rosalie. Good. Renesmee ground her teeth in grim satisfaction and moved to drive her point home—to provide one last push that would shut Alice up permanently. She knew that it was a bad move, and she knew that she would regret it, but it was difficult to care.

"I _know_ that Irina did that," she seethed, tears spilling over her face. "And I know that everything came out perfectly in the end. Everything was perfect. I was perfect. Perfectly, adorably unique Renesmee who will never grow up, who will never become independent or aware of how _weird_ she really is! I don't _want_ to be different. I hope that no one ever creates another hybrid vampire, ever. I hope that no one else ever has to endure this!" She was really crying now, which only made her angrier. Renesmee had been hoping for a big, powerful finish, but her tears had overpowered her, and her speech had just petered out. There didn't seem to be much to do except let someone else speak. But she could not let someone else have the last word. Not when this was her fight to win.

Renesmee snuffled loudly and brought herself under control, more or less. "I," she said thickly, willing her voice to stop wobbling so much, "am going to go for a walk. A long walk. I'll be back when I can handle your expectations. Don't follow me, or I _swear_ I'll set the pack on you." She glared as best as she could when her eyes were red and swollen and turned on her heel, flouncing away from her family. Even though she wanted to run, Renesmee forced herself to walk. Her speech may have failed, but she could still make an exit. Provided that no one tried to stop her.

Remarkably, no one did. The Cullens let her storm away, and Renesmee could not decide whether that made her grateful or even more upset.

* * *

**A/N: review! Review! Review!**


	8. Movie Moments

**A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

While it was nice to be able to stomp away from her family without interference, there was a downside. Renesmee was now all alone in the woods with nobody to shout at and no shoulders to cry on.

_If this were a movie_, she mused dully, poking at a banana slug with a stick, _Jacob would come through the trees right now. Either he would ask why I was crying, or he would already know. Either way, he'd make me feel better. I wish this were a movie._

She squeezed her eyes shut and counted to ten, hoping that she would open them to see Jacob in front of her, ready to offer her a hug or a deer carcass to eat or something. Anything to cheer her up.

When she opened them, there was nobody. It wasn't a movie, after all. No surprise there.

A twig cracked sharply. Renesmee whirled around, hopeful.

"Jacob?" she called tentatively. But she could hear the creature's breathing, and it was too light to be a werewolf's. Whatever had cracked that twig sounded and smelled like a vampire.

She narrowed her swollen eyes. "Go away," she shouted thickly.

Whatever it was hesitated and then ran away. Renesmee stood silently for a few minutes, but then curiosity overtook her, and she trotted over to where the intruder had stood.

It had definitely been a vampire. The scent was sweet to the point of being sickly, and there was very little damage to the surrounding foliage. But it wasn't a scent that she recognized.

Oh, well. There were lots of strange vampires in the area right now. Either someone had inadvertently stumbled across her path, or they had been sent to check up on her. Renesmee snorted. She didn't need anyone to take care of her. She was seven years old, for heaven's sake.

— — —

It was only a matter of time until someone came to get her. However, the emissary was not the one that Renesmee had expected.

"What are you doing here?" Renesmee blurted, before she could stop herself. Emmett, of all people. He wasn't understanding, like Esme; he wasn't wise, like Carlisle; he had no parental authority over her, like Bella or Edward. Why would the Cullens have sent him?

"What do you mean, 'what am I doing here?' I came to find you."

"If you're here on some mission from Bella—" Renesmee started, but Emmett cut her off.

"What'd you have to explode for, huh?" Emmett was so upset that the muscles were bulging in his thick neck. It sounded like he didn't know whether to shout or cry. It was somewhat startling; Emmett was rarely this agitated.

Renesmee curled her fingers into fists and stood her ground. "What do you mean, 'what did I have to explode for?' Exploding was the only way that I would ever have been able to say that stuff!"

"Well, then, you shouldn't have exploded!" Emmett took a deep breath and lowered his volume a bit. "Look," he said, jabbing a finger in Renesmee's face. "I know that you want to be treated like an adult, and that's fine. That's a good thing. But you're going to have to give us a bit more time to process this. It's not like you can flip a switch. This is not going to be instant."

"I know it won't be instant—"

"Then why did you freak out this morning?" he demanded.

"Because I was frustrated!" Renesmee yelled. "Aren't I allowed to be frustrated?"

"Yes, you are!" Emmett bellowed back. "But you're not allowed to cut people up like that! Next time you need to shout at somebody, do it more nicely!"

"What, now I'm supposed to _nicely_ tell people to back out of my life?"

"Yes!" His voice was so loud that it echoed around the forest, effectively ending their shouting match. Emmett and Renesmee glared at each other for several long minutes, waiting for the other to back down. Eventually, Emmett retreated, his shoulders heaving with the effort of containing himself. Renesmee took this as a sign that she could cease to stand on her tiptoes. She let her heels fall back to earth and took a long breath.

"Okay," she said, blowing the air out slowly. "I get it. I shouldn't have flipped out. I know that. But everyone has their outbursts. It's not like everyone else there hasn't done the same thing."

"True," Emmett admitted. His hands were still curled into large fists, but at least he was no longer shouting. "But why did you have to attack Rose and Alice? That wasn't necessary."

"I thought it was," Renesmee said, a touch sulkily. "Is it so wrong to want to have one mother instead of three?"

"You could have said that a bit more nicely," he snapped. "Do you know what happened after you stomped off? Rosalie dissolved into hysterics, and Alice just stood there. She wasn't even talking. You could wave a hand in front of her face and she wouldn't even notice. I know, because I tried to snap her out of it. Jasper's livid. You are going to get one hell of a verbal beating when you get home."

"She just stood there silently, huh?" Guilt curdled in Renesmee's stomach. She tried to ignore it. "Good. Alice needs to learn to keep her mouth shut."

"I know it doesn't mean much to you," Emmett snarled, stung by her indifference, "but it does to the rest of us. You know how much you mean to them. You know how much Rosalie wishes that you really were her daughter. You know—"

"I know!" Renesmee yelled over his increasing volume. She lowered her voice and repeated, "I know. I'll apologize to them. Really," she added, seeing that he looked dubious. "I will. But the truth is, Emmett, that's the only way that I thought that I could get through to them. I know I did it in a stupid way, but I don't really regret it. I've been trying to tell them subtly for so long, and they just ignore me or get all defensive. I already have a mother. Rosalie and Alice need to learn that."

"You are such a teenager," Emmett snapped, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"So are you," Renesmee retorted, stung.

"Yeah, but I've lived long enough to control myself. Face it, Nessie. You're only seven. You haven't lived long enough to keep yourself in check. You're like a freaking _newborn_."

"Of course I am!" Renesmee spluttered, throwing her hands into the air. "I'm not that old, Emmett! Cut me a little slack!"

"If you aren't that old, maybe you shouldn't be so eager to be treated like an adult."

Renesmee ground her teeth audibly. "Emmett. Seriously. Shut up. I get it, okay? I get it."

"Do you?" he demanded. "Do you really?"

"Yes," Renesmee said, pinching the bridge of her nose as she spoke. All of the tension was giving her a monstrous headache. "I don't know very much yet. I can't always control myself. I need to go apologize, and I'll do that as soon as I can. And I'll try not to flip out again, because it has obviously disturbed everyone. But Emmett--" she slapped on her best pleading expression, "--try to understand. I never intended to start screaming and, well, acting like a total brat. It just sort of _happened_. Things happen. People screw up. Cut me a little slack."

Emmett fell silent as he mulled over this, his vast shoulders slumping a bit as the angry tension started to leave them. Finally, he mumbled, "Alright. You're right, I guess. I just wish that you hadn't been so mean about it. You're usually so nice."

"Emmett, even I can be mean if I need to be," Renesmee said wearily. "And so can you."

"Right," he said distantly. They dropped into an awkward silence. Renesmee shuffled her feet and allowed her gaze to bounce around the environs until, inevitably, it met Emmett's.

"Well, this day has been interesting," he muttered awkwardly, trying to smooth over the silence.

"Really interesting," Renesmee agreed.

"Let's never do this again."

"Yeah, yeah." Renesmee scuffed her feet in the dirt and mulch. She was eager to get away from Emmett and this extremely awkward moment. "I'm going to go grab a snack. I'll meet you back at the house, okay?"

Emmett hesitated, and then seemed to decide not to push her any further today. "Alright. You will come back, right?"

Renesmee nodded. "Yeah. Don't worry. I'll come home and apologize. I'm just hungry, that's all." This was, of course, a lie, but Renesmee was a good liar. Emmett surveyed her for a long moment and finally nodded awkwardly and ran off. Renesmee watched him go, feeling a bit empty. Somehow, screaming at everyone didn't feel as good as she had thought it would.

She could hear someone shuffling in the foliage nearby. Renesmee rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, Emmett," she called, walking toward the sound. "I promise not to run away with the pack. I'm going to come home. Go ahead. Go on. Rosalie probably needs you. You know that you're the only one that she'll really listen to anyways—" Renesmee stopped short. Standing in the vegetation was not Emmett, but a dark-haired, red-eyed vampire. This would not have been troubling were it not for the fact that it was not one of the Cullens' guests. It was, in fact, someone that Renesmee did not recognize.

"Uh… excuse me," she said. "I thought you were my brother."

"Your uncle, I believe," the man answered. He seemed perfectly at ease. "Forgive me, Ness—I mean, Renesmee. You are Renesmee, aren't you?"

"It's just Nessie," she replied automatically. "How did you know that? You've been eavesdropping, haven't you?" She pointed at him with an accusing finger. He chuckled and raised his palms in a gesture of innocence.

"Only to the last little bit," he replied. "Nessie, now, is it? I can't imagine that Bella's very happy about that one."

"What?"

He shook his head, laughing again. Renesmee's gut roiled uneasily. Why did he keep laughing? How much had he heard?

"Running away with the pack," he said. "An unwise choice in many respects, Nessie. What possible reason could you have for that?" He looked genuinely curious. Perhaps he had not heard about the recent fiasco vis-à-vis her and Jacob. Hopefully not. There was something about this man that she did not like.

"I was exaggerating," she stammered. "Anyways, it's been lovely, but I need to get home."

"I remember the fuss that your mother put up about your nickname," he continued. Renesmee, who had begun to edge away, froze.

"You remember?" she repeated suspiciously.

"Oh, yes," he replied, turning so that he faced her directly.

"You were a witness?"

"No."

"Who are you?" Renesmee demanded, her nerves getting the better of her. "What are you doing here?"

"You don't remember me?" he asked, faking a wounded expression. "Nessie, I'm hurt."

"Why would I remember you if you were never here?"

"Oh, but I was," he replied, walking forward as she walked back. "I came with my coven seven years ago, called by poor Carlisle. The Volturi were coming. Surely you remember that you nearly destroyed your whole family?"

_He's trying to mess with me_, Renesmee realized. _Guilt-tripping. Conflicting statements. Don't listen to him_.

"You were never here. How can you have come but not have been a witness?"

The man sniggered, and Renesmee took a few more hasty backward steps, anxious to put more space between the two of them.

"Simple. I came… and then I left. I have a new coven now. Try to keep up, little Loch Ness Monster." The man's eyes widened, and his tone became almost sing-song as he walked slowly forward, clearly relishing the frightened look on Renesmee's face. "Silly little monster. Don't you remember me? I was here. I came when called, and then left when it suited me."

"Well, if you didn't like it, why are you back?" Renesmee asked belligerently.

"It's a good time to be back, don't you think?"

"No," she said, hopping backwards over a fallen log. _Never turn your back on a threat_. One of the things that Jasper had taught her. She was suddenly grateful for the basic combat lessons that she had received from him. It had taken a lot of work to get Bella and Edward's permission, but the lessons might be coming in handy very soon. "No, I think it's a horrible time to be back."

"I'm hurt," he said mockingly. "Why do you look so frightened? I'll only be here for a few days." Then, he leaned in, and his singsong tone dropped to become almost seductive. "After all, you don't think that I would miss Alice's party… and the chance to see the little monster all grown up and beautiful?"

At that, Renesmee turned on her heel and ran flat-out, even thought it meant turning her back on a possible assailant. This man was truly creepy. Why did he keep calling her "monster?" When he spoke, it was clear that it wasn't just a cute abbreviation of "Loch Ness Monster." His tone was light, but there was real menace buried in the candy sweetness of his words.

The man jogged after her, his pace light. He maintained a respectful distance and stayed to her side so that he was never out of her vision. And, all the while, he shouted to her, his voice cajoling and crackling with sickly mirth.

"Come back, monster," he called. "Why are you leaving? Don't you want to know who I am and why I'm here?"

"No!" Renesmee shouted at him. "If you wanted to tell me that, you would have already."

"True," he conceded. "Another day, then? I'll meet you out here tomorrow. I'm sure you want to get away from your family and their adoring guests. You weren't very happy to see that you were to be the family showpiece, were you?"

"Mind your own business," Renesmee snapped, her cheeks coloring. The man laughed and took a large diagonal leap, so that he was closer to her. Only fifty feet of space instead of a hundred. Renesmee swallowed and concentrated on what was in front of her. As soon as she was near the house, she would be in range of Edward's telepathic abilities. This man would regret chasing her then. If she managed to get to the house, that was.

"Don't you wonder what happened at that battle?" he asked.

"No." _Listen, but don't speak. Take information, but don't give any. Thank you, Jasper. Who knew that your advice would ever come in handy?_

"I think you do. Don't you want to know why I fled before the Volturi came?"

"Because you were too scared to stay," Renesmee said sharply. "Duh." _Keep the threat talking. As long as he talks, he will not hurt you so badly that you can no longer listen. Well, probably._

"Was I scared, or merely prudent? Or did I have some other reason?" The man tapped his temple knowingly. "And how can you be so sure that what you've been told is the truth? Aren't they just shielding you? Protecting the baby monster from something that might scare her?" _Goading. Ignore it. Just ignore it._

"Nice try," Renesmee said, tossing her head. "I'm not falling for that."

"It was worth a shot," he sighed. "Well, we seem to be close to the house—I can smell all of the guests. I suppose that I had better let you go."

Renesmee ignored him. Not much farther. If she could just keep herself alive for a bit longer—

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," the man said chattily. "Same time, same place? Feel free to tell your family that I'm here. I'm sure that they will be glad to see me."

"Go away!" Renesmee screamed wildly, losing her composure.

"As you wish, little monster," he said, peeling off in a different direction. And then, as if to goad her, he called, "missing you already!"

"I said, GO AWAY!" Renesmee threw some extra strength into her legs and crashed blindly through the foliage. Anything, anything to get away from this man. Where was Jacob when she needed him? If this were a movie, Jacob would come through the forest and tear him to shreds.

She dodged through a few last trees and came in full view of the house. Her lungs were heaving with the effort of running while containing pure panic. But she was safe. Finally safe. He wasn't enough of a fool to attack her here.

She gulped down air as she looked around her. The man was gone, and his scent would be mixed in with numerous others. Still, that was no reason to let him get away. Time to go find her family. After she dished out apologies, she would tell them about the man.

A vindictive smile pulled at the corners of Renesmee's mouth. After Jacob heard about this, there was nowhere that this man could hide.

* * *

**A/N: reviewers get sincere thanks and adoration.**


	9. Plots and Precautions

**A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Renesmee pushed the door open cautiously. If Alice and Rosalie were still in various states of shock and hysteria, she wasn't likely to get a good reception. She had planned on putting together a nice little speech, but that had never happened. Speeches hadn't really been on her mind after the incident in the woods.

The only other person in the room was Seth, who was sprawled in front of the television. His head snapped up when she entered.

"Whoa. Nessie, what happened? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"Worse," Renesmee choked.

Seth's forehead wrinkled. "Worse? How much worse?"

"Way worse," she gasped, fighting to quash her adrenaline rush.

"Want me to get Jake?"

Renesmee nodded shakily as Bella and Edward appeared at her sides.

"Be right back." Seth squeezed her shoulder and trotted out the door purposefully. Renesmee turned her attention to her parents, placing a hand on each of their frigid cheeks. She showed them Alice, and then Rosalie, and indicated that she needed to apologize.

She looked wildly from Edward to Bella and back. They looked back, their eyes growing wide with alarm.

"Nessie, what happened to you?" Bella asked.

"I—" Renesmee swallowed and showed them the man who had been pursuing her. As Edward and Bella watched Renesmee interact with, and then run from, her assailant, they began to exchange panicked looks.

"What?" Bella's features stretched in alarm. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Renesmee shook her head. She was aware that Edward's face was contorting as he heard her thoughts.

"That sounds like…" Edward paused. "Did he say anything useful?"

"Oh, yeah." Renesmee looked up as more figures entered the room. The alarm must have been raised that the neurotic hybrid had returned. There was Alice, who peered timidly out from behind Jasper, as though worried that Renesmee might attack her again. Kate and Garrett were in the kitchen, their heads poking around the door. Benjamin was sitting quietly at the foot of the stairs. The front door swung open, and Jacob came in, trailed by an anxious Seth.

"Ness, what just happened?" Jacob growled.

"What can you tell us about this man?" Edward pressed. "You said that he said something useful. What was it?"

"What man?" Jacob barked. "What's happened?"

Renesmee held up a hand. "Wait. I…" she took a few steps forward and held out her hand to Alice, intending to speak to her telepathically. But her nerve failed her. It didn't seem like a good idea to go to near to Alice—not now. Renesmee held up her palms instead. "Alice, I'm sorry that I blew up on you like that. I was out of line. I'm really sorry." And she was.

"'S'kay," Alice mumbled, looking at the floor. Renesmee swallowed what was left of her extemporaneous speech –now did not seem to be the time—and plunged into her tale. "Okay. Uh… well, the rest of you don't know what's going on, and I only have two hands, so I guess I'll just… speak aloud, then. Um, I met this, well, I met a vampire in the woods, and, well…" her nerves were catching up with her, causing her to babble. Renesmee chewed her lip for a minute as she regained her composure. "I was pursued by a stranger all the way to the house. He left when he smelled the guests. This man… I don't know who he was. He said that he came here as a witness, but left before the Volturi arrived. He remembered that Bella hated my nickname—he started to call me Nessie, and then caught himself and said Renesmee. He knew about Alice's party, and that I would be grown up by now." She looked around helplessly. "How did he know that? Why did he follow me?"

Edward's mouth was set in a hard line. "Only a few chose to leave before the Volturi arrived. Judging from your mental description… if he really was here seven years ago… it sounds like Amun." He looked at Benjamin sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

Benjamin looked hurt for a split second, and then his boyish face became thoughtful. "It could easily be someone else. We challenged the Volturi. That's not a story that would stay private. Someone else could fake it." He paused, mulling everything over. "Then again, it may be. But, regardless of whether it is Amun or not, why would they come here? Why now?"

"Tactical advantage," Jasper said. Every head swiveled to watch him speak. "If all he's doing is sneaking around, his scent will be mixed in with everyone else's. That could, of course, be turned on him with relative ease. He'll in a bad situation if he's discovered, so it's unlikely that he'll stay."

"He said that he had a new coven," Renesmee blurted. "Maybe he's here with more vampires."

"It's possible," Jasper said. "It's probable, actually. But we still have the advantage. They couldn't hide too many people. We're already struggling to avoid attracting attention from the town… not to mention the Volturi." Everyone stiffened at his words. "Which is why," he added, "Alice checked the future beforehand and is currently monitoring it with all necessary caution."

"She'd better be," Jacob muttered. "We've already had them come here, and that was not fun."

"We should go see if we recognize Nessie's attacker," Edward said bluntly. "If we do, then that gets us somewhere. And if we don't, we at least know that it isn't Amun."

"We should take Maggie with us," Kate suggested. She and Garrett had wandered in from the kitchen. "And Benjamin."

"Benjamin should stay here," Jasper replied. "If it is Amun, Benjamin may be his target. But sending Maggie is a good idea, particularly if neither Edward nor I go. We should have someone who can tell if he's lying or not."

"We'll take all three of you," Bella said. Her shoulders were tensed with anger, causing the tendons in her slender neck to stand out. "Maggie, Jasper, Edward, me, Nessie, the pack. We'll bring all of our guests if we need to."

Renesmee put a hand to Bella's face, telling her to calm herself. Bella did not look any calmer, but her face softened a bit.

"I just don't want anybody hurt," she muttered. "Especially you."

Renesmee sighed and put her other hand on Bella's other cheek, pouring her thoughts out as quickly as she could. Bella was experienced enough that she would know what her daughter wanted to say: that she was safe, that the stranger had not touched her, and that she was confident that he would be easily taken care of.

Bella finally nodded, the anger leaving her frame. "Okay. You're right. I just… it's my job to worry, isn't it? I mean, I'm your mother." Her expression was almost pleading, as if hoping that Renesmee would take the news calmly. Renesmee gave her a brave little smile and nodded. It was true. Bella was her mother, and, even if she was sometimes melodramatic or prone to fretting, Renesmee loved her too much to hate her for it.

She took her hands from her mother's face and turned to look at the cluster of vampires and werewolves that watched her.

"Alright," she said finally. "He said that he would meet me again, 'same time, same place.' I don't think he was entirely serious, but I'm guessing that he's going to hang around. He doesn't like me… he kept calling me 'monster,' and he obviously liked scaring me."

We'll inform the other guests," Edward said briskly, "and we'll get started in our search immediately. I'll ask Siobhan to swing things in our favor. Alice, if you wouldn't mind taking your eye off the Volturi for a bit to watch for local threats?"

Alice spoke for the first time since her nervous apology acceptance. "I don't want to do that until this party's over. If they catch wind of it, they'll see it as a threat."

"Not for long," Edward said persuasively. "Five or ten minutes a day. The odds of you missing the Volturi on a ten-minute break are astronomical."

Alice nodded again. Renesmee squirmed. She had never seen Alice so _mousy_ before. Could her outburst have done this? Surely she hadn't hurt Alice's feelings that much? Alice bounced back from everything so quickly.

Speaking of hurting feelings… Renesmee reached up to touch Bella's cheek, asking for Rosalie. She had to apologize.

Edward, hearing her thoughts, spoke. "We don't know where Rosalie is right now, Nessie. By the time Emmett came home, she had gone. He tried to follow her, but, with all of the scents here, it's harder to track people. Nobody knows if he's found her yet."

The guilt in Renesmee's stomach tightened painfully. She hadn't meant for anything so dramatic to happen, and, after seeing Alice, she was genuinely worried about what she might have done to Rosalie. Unlike Alice, Rosalie was not good at moving past a slight.

Edward's face softened, as did his tone. "He'll find her, Nessie. You can talk to her then. Now, I'm going to go find Siobhan, and Jacob wants to speak to you and Seth outside."

* * *

**A/N: pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaase review? *sad face***


	10. The Bad Kind of Trouble

**A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Jacob and Seth flanked Renesmee as they walked slowly across the Cullens' lushly manicured lawn. Stray vampires, who were lolling around and chatting, ceased to speak as the three of them approached and fell to curious muttering as they passed. From what she could overhear, the Cullens had managed to keep Renesmee's newfound affection for Jacob a secret. Astonishing, really.

The strange trio kept moving until they had passed into the trees behind the Cullens' house. Renesmee expected Jacob to stop there, but he and Seth kept walking silently. They seemed so tranquil. Renesmee wished that she could mimic them, but it currently seemed that she would never be tranquil again. How could so much happen in such a short time? To think that, only yesterday afternoon, she had been pouring food-grade glitter on herself. In roughly twenty-four hours, her whole family dynamic had been altered. Hopefully some of that damage could be repaired.

Renesmee didn't know how long they walked, but they eventually reached a small clearing filled with long, dry grass that had been bleached yellow by the long-gone summer sun. They stopped. Then, the two werewolves turned to face her. Jacob placed a hand on one of Renesmee's shoulders, and Seth put one on the other. Renesmee wasn't sure if this was to comfort her or to restrain her.

"You might want to sit down," Jacob told her.

"And take a deep breath," Seth added.

"And maybe a few pills, just to be safe."

"What's happened?" Renesmee demanded. Her breath hitched in her throat, trapped by fear. She raised her hands to their faces and showed them Rosalie, asking if she was alright.

"It's not about the blonde," Jacob said flatly. "It's about us."

A picture of two werewolves.

"No, not me and Seth. They don't care about Seth. It's you and me that everyone's worried about. Your family approached me last night, after your outburst, and asked that I not tell anyone or let on that things have changed. Actually, Edward wants us to stay away from the house until the guests have gone. About a week."

"What?" Renesmee asked, even though her friends could see her alarm through her pictures. "They want you to _what_?"

"They're trying to minimize drama," Seth said, starting to look anxious. He wasn't eager for a violent outburst. Neither was Renesmee. She just hoped that she would have a choice in the matter.

"But that's ridiculous!" Renesmee cried, feeling her eyes begin to sting again. It was no fun, being this emotional. She cried at the drop of a hat.

"I know it is," Jacob said grumpily, "but there's about thirty of them and two of us. So it looks like you'll be coming to see us from now on." He caught a good look at her face and sighed. "Hey, there. C'mon, Ness, it's only a week."

"That's it," Renesmee snapped, though her words were a bit thick because her nose was rapidly filling with snot. "Jake, I'm taking you up on your offer. I'm running away with the pack. I really mean it this time."

"Just like you meant it two weeks ago?"

"That was different!" Renesmee wailed. "I wasn't serious then!"

"Ness…" Jacob sighed and pulled her into a rough, strong hug. She snuffled loudly, trying to control herself, and it seemed to work. At least she didn't dissolve into a blubbering mess. The three of them stood quietly for some time.

"Look," Jacob said finally. "I was all set to ignore Edward, but Seth's pretty good at making his point. Fighting them won't get us anywhere. I've already got my work cut out for me in convincing them that I'm the right guy for you. In the long run—and I can't believe that I'm saying this—it'll be better for us."

"This is stupid," Renesmee groused. "Everyone's always assumed that this would happen. It's not like they didn't see it coming."

"I think they're still hoping that you'll meet a nice hybrid and settle down." Jacob laughed, a little ruefully, but Renesmee didn't.

"It's stupid," she reiterated. "You shouldn't have to convince them of anything. You've proved over and over that you care about me."

"Well, sure, but sharing a deer carcass doesn't really say, 'Nessie's perfect werewolf.'"

Renesmee snorted with laughter in spite of herself. She rolled her eyes and touched Jacob's face lightly, showing him all of the proof that he was "Nessie's perfect werewolf." He had woken up at two in the morning to go hunting with her. He had taken her trick-or-treating in the rain, even though she had dressed up as a vampire. After she had suffered a cruel encounter with some of the more popular girls at school, Jacob and Seth had threatened them so effectively that no one had bothered Renesmee since. That had resulted in Jacob and Seth's suspension from school. Edward and Bella had not been pleased, but Emmett had thought it funny, and Renesmee had been touched.

"I guess I'm pretty good to you," Jacob relented, grinning at her. "Imprinting thing."

"I like imprinting," Renesmee whispered.

"I've decided that I like it, too."

"Good."

"Yeah." Jacob lifted Renesmee's chin, studied her face, and brushed a tear from it. "It's all good."

Suddenly, Seth mumbled, "Uhh… guys?"

Renesmee and Jacob both jumped, having forgotten that he was there.

"What?" Renesmee asked, a little irritated that he was ruining her moment.

Seth had wandered a few feet away, probably trying to give them a little privacy. He was tilted forward on his toes, squinting into the trees on the other side of their small clearing.

"I'm not sure that it's all good," he said, his voice a little distant because he wasn't really focusing on his words.

Renesmee loosed her arms from around Jacob's neck, so that she was holding him very loosely. They both turned, a little awkwardly, to where Seth was looking.

Something was moving in the trees. Several somethings. A human ear wouldn't pick them up, but Renesmee didn't have human ears, and she could hear the creatures moving through the undergrowth. Only two things moved that quietly. One was a werewolf—impossible, as these creatures were bipedal. That left the other option: a vampire. Several vampires, who did not want to be seen or heard. Probably not the guests, then. The guests crashed through the forest with reckless abandon, secure of their surroundings.

Renesmee sprang forward and grabbed Seth's hand, pulling him back to where Jacob stood. She slipped her free hand into Jacob's and murmured, "We might have trouble," while showing them a sequence of pictures that had a giant red X through a boy transforming into a wolf.

"What kind of trouble is this, Nessie?" Seth asked, moving so that he was slightly ahead of her.

She ignored him. "Is there anyone behind us?"

Seth and Jacob whipped their heads back, their eyes spinning over the area.

"Nope." Jacob's grip on her hand tightened.

"Nessie?" Seth persisted. "What kind of trouble is this?"

Renesmee drew a sharp breath as five figures came into the clearing. Their strides were relaxed, but their faces were hard. Their red eyes were trained on Jacob, Renesmee, and Seth as though that was all there was to see. A familiar face was at their head.

"Hello, little monster," the dark-haired man said calmly. The others' glares intensified.

Renesmee backed up a step, pulling the werewolves closer to her as she went. "It's the bad kind of trouble," she breathed.

The man clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "'The bad kind of trouble?' Not very flattering."

"I don't mean to be flattering," Renesmee said coolly. _Always keep your head. Getting wrapped up in your emotions will make you do something stupid._

The man put a hand to his heart. "Ouch," he said mockingly. "You are cold, aren't you?"

Renesmee decided to take a stab at both his name and a bluff. "Yes, Amun, I'm cold. But you're colder, aren't you?"

The man started. "You know my name?" Then, he caught himself. "Clever monster. You told your family about you, didn't you?"

"Yes," Renesmee said flatly.

"What a good girl," he said in a syrupy voice that Renesmee did not like at all. "But what do you mean when you call me colder?"

"I mean that if I had lost two coven members," Renesmee said belligerently, "I would have gotten over it instead of plotting revenge for seven years. So Benjamin left you. So Tia followed. Get over yourself!"

Amun's face hardened in annoyance. Renesmee swallowed. Perhaps that had been pushing it.

And then Amun's face contorted from angry to malicious, and then back to his affected sweetness. "I didn't come back for Benjamin and Tia. Benjamin is only fifteen. He's liable to behave foolishly. And Tia would follow him anywhere—besides, she has no talents. No great loss."

"Well, you sure didn't come back for the party," Jacob interjected, apparently unable to keep his mouth shut any longer. Renesmee grimaced and focused, concentrating on sending a mental picture. The image was one of Jacob with his mouth taped shut.

"True," Amun acknowledged, nodding graciously. "I have no interest in the party, nor do my friends. But when I mentioned you, monster, they just _had_ to meet you."

A cold chill spread slowly over Renesmee's scalp. "Me?" she repeated. "Why me?"

The group of hostile vampires exchanged glances. Then, a slender woman with bright red curls spoke. "I lost my sister and my creator," she said, her English broken by a thick Italian accent.

"We lost our son," said the woman with light brown hair. She clutched at the man next to her, who also sported brown hair, although his was darker. She had a clipped, aristocratic British accent that sagged underneath years' worth of sorrow. "I lost my little Ian."

"My wife was taken from me," snarled the man on the far left, his hands curling into fists. Renesmee took note of that. If –when—they attacked, he would probably be spearheading the charge.

"And I, of course, lost Benjamin," Amun said mournfully. "So powerful. Such a waste."

Renesmee stared at them, lost for words. "I don't understand," she finally said. "Benjamin ran away. Did the others run away?"

"No," the Italian woman said thickly, her eyes narrowing. "They were taken. The Volturi, they took them."

"You mean that they were recruited?"

"No!" she screamed, frustrated by Renesmee's lack of comprehension. "They were killed!"

"Lucrezia, calm down," Amun snapped.

"I'm sorry," Renesmee stammered. "But what does this have to do with me?"

Amun slapped his forehead. "Think, monster," he groaned, exasperated. "Put that tiny brain of yours to use."

Jacob and Seth both started. Renesmee clutched their hands and sent them another message, begging them not to lose control. Not yet. They needed the element of surprise.

She mulled it over. Killed by the Volturi? Hundreds of vampires had been killed by the Volturi. Thousands. That didn't help at all. Renesmee looked up and met Lucrezia's eyes. She was swearing vehemently in Italian. Dimly, she remembered something. Kate and Tanya had lost their sister and their creator, too. Irina had been killed for bearing false witness. And the Denalis' mother had been executed for…

"Is this about immortal children?"

Amun burst into sarcastic applause. "Finally! Sharp as a brick, this one."

"But I'm not an immortal child," Renesmee protested, squeezing Jacob's hand so tightly that she feared that she would snap the metacarpals. "I'm a hybrid. The Volturi decided that I would live."

"You shouldn't have," snarled the man whose hands were still in fists.

"What?"

"Thomas," Amun said warningly. He was starting to lose control over his coven. They were getting too angry.

"Why did they get to keep their child when we couldn't?" the British woman cried, her face contorted in rage. "Why do these _Cullens_ get privileges? They aren't even real vampires!"

"Steady, Caroline," her mate cautioned. He also had a British accent.

"We came as witnesses," Lucrezia spat. "We wanted to be sure that everyone was treated the same. But your family—they got off! Your creators lived, and mine died!"

"They're my parents, not my creators," Renesmee interjected. But Lucrezia kept speaking.

"But now we're back," she said, her volume lowered from its hysterical pitch to a steely, controlled one. "We've come to finish things."

A strange, empty buzzing was filling Renesmee's ears. It was as though everything was slowing down.

"You're here for me," she breathed, unable to believe her own words. "You're here to kill me."

Amun smile broadened. "Surprise."

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhanger. I couldn't resist. Check back in a few days for more fun!**


	11. Chase and Capture

**A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Renesmee's grip on her friends' hands tightened. They had both reared back. But they couldn't transform yet. Not yet. She didn't have a plan beyond _run away_. She needed to keep this group talking until she could think of something that would work. But her list of options was growing ever shorter.

"You? Kill me?" she scoffed. It was a bad bluff that a toddler could have seen through. But it was the best that she had. "If you kill me, you'll have about thirty angry vampires after you."

"I don't think so," Amun said coolly. "I remember your smelly friends. These… things." He gestured vaguely at Jacob and Seth, who were still shaking. "They have very volatile tempers. If you were to irritate them, and happened to be standing too near—well, I'm sure the family would have fun searching for your remains."

Renesmee choked back her surprise. Her trump card was gone. She had been relying on the element of surprise to pull a bluff, maybe even make these vampires think twice or hesitate. She struggled to control her face, pulling it into a grimace.

"Nice try," she said tightly. "These two could never hurt me."

"They could. And your family is more than eager to have a reason to kill them, I believe."

Lucrezia suddenly interrupted. "Wait. These are the giant dogs that you told us about? They aren't so large. What are we waiting for?"

"We're waiting for—" Amun was cut short when Lucrezia dodged out of the cluster of people. Everyone except Amun followed, eager to take a swipe at the hybrid. They would have succeeded, too, had they not underestimated Jacob and Seth, who both sprang forward, bursting out of their cutoffs. The four vampires skidded to a halt, awed at the sight of the two enormous wolves.

Jacob took advantage of their pausing and lunged forward, scattering the unprepared vampires like bowling pins. Meanwhile, Seth wheeled around and knocked Renesmee's shoulder with his head.

"What? What is it?"

Seth huffed and bent his head lower. Renesmee thought that he would just nudge her again, but he did not. Instead, he opened his mouth and gathered the back of Renesmee's collar in his jaws, lifting her from the ground like a puppy. Then, Renesmee understood. Jacob had ordered Seth to take her and run back to the house while he fended off the vampires. But she couldn't let him do that. It was an unfair fight. He would be killed. She squirmed, trying to break Seth's grip.

But he had already started running. Renesmee was jostled uncomfortably, her legs swinging comically beneath her. She reached up and smacked Seth's face with her hand, ordering him to take her back to Jacob. Seth did not turn back, and Renesmee knew that he was unable to disobey Jacob. Stupid alpha commands.

There were feet pounding all around her. Vampires dodged in and out of the trees. They would run right up close, only to veer away sharply, or stay about ten feet away from her while keeping pace with Seth. Playing with her. Trying to make her panic and put on a show before she died. Renesmee was relieved to hear heavy breathing somewhere to her left. Jacob had not been killed. Not yet, anyways.

Well, just because she was being carried back home in a werewolf's jaws didn't mean that she couldn't fight back a bit. Renesmee waited until someone came close enough. It was Thomas. He leered at her, his eyes bright with anticipation.

"Why don't you scream?" he intoned, smirking. "You're about to die, monster. Why don't you scream?"

Renesmee curled her legs up and let them fly. The balls of her feet landed squarely on Thomas' chest, sending him soaring backwards. He crashed into a tree, knocking it over with a heavy _thud_ and much cracking of branches.

Seth chuckled, sending pulses of hot air down the back of Renesmee's neck. She hugged her knees to her chest to make herself a smaller target and to prevent herself from being buffeted around so much. There was snarling behind her. Thomas appeared to have gotten back on his feet.

"What did I tell you, Thomas?" Amun shouted at him, half-amused, half-angry. "These Cullens are smart. Always planning, always fighting back."

"I get it," Thomas growled. Renesmee caught a good look at his face and winced. As if Thomas hadn't been murderous enough already.

"Just don't get near to her again," Caroline said dryly.

"I get it!" Thomas yelled, lunging dangerously close to Renesmee. She squeaked and clutched her knees to her chest more tightly, minimizing the target. She wouldn't be able to kick anyone away again. Nobody would be stupid enough to come within range. She needed a new defense plan, and fast.

Renesmee puzzled for a minute and selected the first thing that came to mind.

"Hey!" she yelled, inflating her lungs as well as she could, given the circumstances. "Hey! Caroline!"

Caroline looked. With someone calling her name, it was almost impossible not to.

"How are you?" Renesmee bellowed.

"What?" Caroline yelled back. "What are you talking about?"

"Cute accent," Renesmee hollered. "Where in England are you from?"

"What are you playing at?" her mate shouted from the other side of Seth.

"Just wondering!" Renesmee shrieked, hoping that they wouldn't guess her motives for yelling. "I figured as long as we're running, we might as well have a nice conversation!"

"Nice?" Caroline spluttered. "We're here to kill you!"

"What?" Renesmee put a hand to her ear theatrically. "Say what now?"

"I said, we're here to kill you!" Caroline shrieked, losing her composure. "You miserable half-breed! When I get my hands on you, I swear I'll wring your skinny little neck!" She gestured in midair. Renesmee tried not to flinch at the vehemence of Caroline's actions. Her plan was working so far. They were almost to the house, and the guests would have heard that last bit. It was only a matter of time until a phalanx of vampires came to their rescue. Hopefully.

"So you're having a bad day, huh?" she called. "Me too! Want to commiserate?"

"Leave her alone!" Caroline's mate yelled.

"Shut up, you pathetic child, shut up!" Lucrezia was screaming. "We are about to rip you limb from limb, and you persist in talking!" She was so angry that her whole face was screwed up. She looked a bit like a pug with bouncy red curls.

"Shutting!" she called cheerfully. Seth chuckled again, and Renesmee felt herself slip in his teeth. She squeaked, and Seth tossed his head. He released her and then clamped his massive jaws around the back of her shirt again, getting a better grip. The back of her shirt would be full of holes before this was over. Renesmee sucked in her breath as Amun came dangerously close. If someone didn't show up soon—

But someone did show up. She could hear a new vampire crashing through the brush and howling like a banshee. Renesmee's heart sped up joyfully. It was Zafrina. Behind her came a horde of enraged vampires. A grin split Renesmee's face in spite of everything. Saved. Her family had come to save her. There was nothing that this motley crew could do to her now.

Or maybe there was. There was quite a lot of furious shrieking from her assailants. Even as the Cullens and their guests bore down on them, they weren't willing to give up. Especially Lucrezia. She was looking particularly insane. So insane, in fact, that she was willing to try something phenomenally stupid: directly attacking Renesmee.

Lucrezia shrieked, a high, keening sound, and lunged. It was a well-timed leap. Moments after her feet left the ground, Liam crashed into the dirt, his arms closing around the space where she had just been. He swore colorfully and Seth, distracted, moved his head towards the sound. Renesmee screamed at him to stop, but it was too late. Seth had swung her right across Lucrezia's path.

_I'm dead_, Renesmee thought vaguely. _Dead. Sorry, everyone. Sorry I was such a brat earlier._

Lucrezia spun past her in midair, her hands grabbing wildly for Renesmee and her teeth bared. She was still screeching. Renesmee gritted her teeth and prepared to kick her away. But Seth had moved just far enough that Lucrezia sailed past Renesmee. Well, almost. Lucrezia's hands sailed under Renesmee, but her head did not.

There was a sick, wet _shhhk _sound as Lucrezia's shiny white teeth sank into Renesmee's skin, leaving a long ribbon of red blood up the whole length of her arm. And then, Lucrezia passed her, landing on her feet in the dirt. Jacob appeared out of nowhere, his front paws pinning Lucrezia's wrists to the forest floor. She started to struggle, but it was too late for her. Jacob had already torn her head from her body. It sailed over the crowd and was caught by Maggie, who winced and curled her arms around it to guard it.

_It's too late for me, too_, Renesmee thought. _I'm really dead now_. She raised her non-injured arm to Seth's face, begging her to take her away from the crowd. They were already raising their heads curiously, attracted to the scent of her blood. They would tear her apart soon.

As Seth began to run, Renesmee wiggled her bloodied arm out of its sleeve, tucking it inside her shirt. That should detain the crowd for, oh, half a second. Sure enough, there was someone running after them. Her arm was starting to burn painfully. There was fire lodged in her skin. Her whole arm was burning and bleeding at the same time, and there was somebody on their tail. One of her attackers had probably slipped away from the fray. They would not be missed in time. There were too many vampires. It was probably Caroline. Or Thomas. Or Amun. Someone was there to kill her. Renesmee struggled to concentrate. Two pairs of feet, now. Two pursuers. One to kill Seth, and one to kill her. Provided that the poison in her arm did not finish her first. The pain was blurring her vision and her hearing. She was beginning to cry. How had her family stood this? Three whole days of this?

Suddenly, Seth dropped her. Through the haze, Renesmee started to panic. He had dropped her. They had attacked him, and he had flung her away. He was dead. She had accidentally killed Seth. And she was next.

A pair of cold arms wrapped around her, tugging her wounded arm out of her t-shirt. Renesmee screamed and thrashed, trying to push them away. She couldn't see them. They were murmuring in her ear, but she couldn't understand the words. Between her panic and the venom being pumped through her system, everything was dissolving. Maybe she would be turned into a real vampire, if she was not killed first. But she didn't want that. She wasn't ready. For all of her complaining about being a hybrid, being a vampire no longer seemed like a good thing. It would mean losing all of her freedom—freedom to go into the sunlight, freedom to venture onto the pack's land, if and when they returned to Forks and had treaty lines to observe. Freedom to be with Jacob. It wasn't time for her to be a vampire. She let out another raw yell and yanked at her arm.

"Nessie!" her attacker shouted. "Stop struggling! You're raising your heartbeat! Keep it down. Help me, here, Nessie."

There was something familiar in that voice. Renesmee choked back her screams and tried to concentrate.

"Good," the person was saying. "That's good. Deep breaths. Slow your heart down."

"It hurts," Renesmee wailed. She still didn't know who she was talking to. A man, definitely. That didn't help much.

"I know," he said soothingly. "I know it hurts. I'm going to help you, alright?"

"It hurts!" Renesmee screamed again.

"I'll make it go away," the man said. Renesmee was aware that her wounded arm was being pulled out to its full length. Something cold was on her arm. It was fantastically cold. Like an ice cube. Strangely, it seemed to be helping—it was putting out the fire in her arm. Like an ice cube with a fire extinguisher.

The ice cube left her arm briefly and then returned. And then it left again. This… thing… was drinking her blood, but it didn't seem to want to hurt her. Renesmee cracked her eyes open tentatively. A blond head was lowered to her arm. It rose, and Renesmee breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Carlisle," she intoned hazily. Carlisle nodded, looking relieved, and spat out the mouthful of poisoned blood that he had sucked from Renesmee's arm.

"Better?" he asked.

"There's still some in there," Renesmee gasped, fighting the urge to scream some more. The incubating screams were more from panic than pain.

"I can't take much more," Carlisle cautioned. He then brought the gash in Renesmee's arm to his lips and began to suck more of her blood. Renesmee gripped the earth with her free hand, determined not to fall. The lack of blood was making her a bit dizzy.

"Okay," she finally stammered. "I think that's all. That should be enough."

Carlisle spat out the blood and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "We heard you shouting," he said, his eyes wide with shock and concern.

"That was the idea," Renesmee admitted, feeling a little proud in spite of her spinning head and stinging arm. "We were in trouble there."

"I noticed." Carlisle looked up. Renesmee followed his gaze. Bella was coming into the clearing, followed by Jacob, who had transformed and was speaking urgently to Edward. Seth, who was still a wolf, was watching the proceedings cautiously and keeping a sharp eye on the forest in case someone decided to follow them.

"I got the stuff," Bella said breathlessly. Her arms were full of medical supplies.

"Thank you," Carlisle said mildly, selecting a tube of Neosporin from the pile. He unscrewed the cap and began to smear the gel over Renesmee's wound. She flinched and dug her hand further into the earth.

"I'm sorry I freaked on you earlier," she mumbled. "I lost control."

"It's alright." Carlisle wound a generous length of cotton gauze around Renesmee's arm and sealed the bandage with a strip of medical tape and a smart nod. "We all lose control occasionally."

"You don't," Renesmee countered.

"Yes, but I'm not a newborn any more," Carlisle said, helping her to her feet. Renesmee swayed a bit.

"Blood loss," Carlisle said helpfully. "You'll be fine in a bit, but we'd better get you some food."

"Yeah, yeah." Renesmee let go of Carlisle and tottered over to Seth, who looked at her with large, plaintive eyes.

Renesmee raised both of her arms and wrapped them around his fuzzy neck in a grateful hug. "Thank you," she mumbled, burying her face in his sandy fur.

"Yes," Edward agreed, his words tumbling out in a relieved rush. "Thank you so much, Seth."

Seth scuffed the dirt modestly. Renesmee scratched him behind the ears for a moment and then turned around, leaning on him for much-needed support.

"What happened to the others?" she asked. "To Amun?"

"They've been detained," Edward said, his mouth in a hard line. "Obviously. I don't know what possessed Amun to attack you here. It was a suicide mission."

"You killed them?"

"Not yet," Jacob said darkly. "I was all set to, believe me, but—"

"But Alice said that she was picking something up with the Volturi," Bella blurted. She was wringing her hands anxiously. "She thinks that they might have found out about the party. She's watching them now—"

"—Meaning that you and Seth and I need to stay away so that we don't block her visions," Jacob finished.

Renesmee nodded. "Fine. That's fine. I need to go hunt. You guys can come along. You know, make sure that I don't collapse." She looked from Seth to Jacob. "Can I get a ride?"

Seth nodded at Jacob, who grinned and walked over to them. He helped Renesmee to haul herself onto Seth's back and then slapped Seth's shoulder. "Good man. Let's go kill something."

Seth flicked his tail and began to walk off, keeping his jaunt as smooth as possible so as not to jostle her. Jacob walked beside them, and he seemed to be chuckling to himself.

"Come back within an hour or so," Bella called to them. "Alice should be finished by then."

"Okay," Renesmee said. If she could only get away before anyone made any smarmy comments—

"Have a good time, kids!" Edward shouted.

"DAD!"

"Sorry," he laughed. "I couldn't resist."

* * *

**A/N: reviews are always met with sincere adoration.**


	12. Drama Queen

**A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

"'Have a good time, kids,'" Renesmee grumbled as she tripped over a root. "'Have a good time.' What does he think this is? _The Brady Bunch_?"

Jacob's laughter resonated around the trees. "Okay, okay. Chill out."

Renesmee put a hand to his face, showing him her irritation. But she couldn't stop smirking. In retrospect, it had been funny. Sort of.

"Yeah, yeah," she groused. "I need to sit down. Wanna go grab something for me?"

"Seth can do that," Jacob replied. Seth glared at them and finally trotted off with a resigned huff, flicking his tail indignantly. Jacob and Renesmee both laughed.

"Must be nice to be the Alpha," Renesmee chuckled, sinking to the ground. She leaned against an enormous fallen log and allowed Jacob to sling an arm around her shoulders.

"Sometimes it's nice," Jacob agreed. "Sometimes it isn't."

"Thanks for making Seth take me away, by the way," Renesmee said. "I'm surprised that everything turned out this well."

"If you can call that gash on your arm 'well,' then I guess it did." Jacob's face grew dark. "I should have done more than just torn her head off. Filthy bloodsucker."

"You did the right thing," Renesmee said placidly, curling closer to him.

"She bit you," Jacob said flatly. "Seth screwed up."

"Seth saved my life twice," Renesmee pointed out, poking Jacob's bare chest. "Once when he took me away from Amun, and once when he took me away from all of the vampires when I was bleeding."

"Speaking of blood, it's all over your shirt. Won't that be dangerous?"

"I'll take my chances," she said grimly.

"Why are you talking so much?" Jacob asked curiously, abruptly switching the subject.

Renesmee paused as she mulled it over. "I've been practicing. I screamed at my family, explained my encounter aloud, and shouted to draw attention to us just now. And I've been speaking aloud to Amun, of course. It's going to be a habit if I'm not careful."

"Better watch out," Jacob teased.

"I should probably speak more often," Renesmee admitted. "Sometimes, if I go a long time without speaking, I start to dream that my voice is degrading. I'll open my mouth, and my voice will be all rusty—cracking and squeaking. Can that actually happen?"

"I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "Let's not find out, okay?"

"Mmmk." Renesmee exhaled, long and slow. "This has been quite a day."

"Tell me about it," Jacob agreed. "First there was the thing with the glitter—"

"—And then that awful party," Renesmee said, starting to laugh. "That was a fiasco. Especially since… well." She flushed and looked down sheepishly.

"Things really went downhill after that," Jacob sighed, growing somber.

"They shouldn't have," Renesmee mumbled. "It was one little kiss. That's it. You'd think the Berlin Wall was falling."

Jacob shuffled his foot uncomfortably, digging a little hole in the dirt with his toe. "You know that I'm fine with whatever you want, right?" he finally said. "I don't mind staying friends. If you don't want the extra drama—"

"I'll take the drama," Renesmee interrupted quickly.

"Because there will be drama."

"Of course there will." Renesmee hooked her arm through the crook of Jacob's elbow and hugged his arm.

"It won't stay just one little kiss."

Renesmee smirked. "It'd better not."

"I could hurt you."

"My whole family could hurt me. Besides, I'm not as breakable as Emily. I could take a beating—" she broke off as Jacob shuddered violently and shook his head with enough force to snap his neck.

"Not from me, you couldn't," he said vehemently. "I could really mess you up, Nessie."

"That's never stopped you from hanging out with me before," Renesmee said gently. "You can control yourself."

"I might not be able to someday."

"Jacob…" Renesmee sighed. "You're starting to sound like Edward."

"God forbid." Jacob seemed to snap out of his self-deprecating reverie. "Yeah, okay. You have a point. I just… don't want to screw up, that's all. I don't want to lose you."

Renesmee heaved another enormous sigh. "Jacob. Don't talk like that. You're not going to lose anyone, okay? Least of all me."

Jacob snorted. "Where have I heard that before?" But he looked happier. Renesmee decided to take advantage of that.

"And as for what I want…" she smiled. The motion felt awkward. "Honestly, Jake, you should know better."

Jacob smiled brilliantly and tucked a stray curl behind Renesmee's ear. "This is probably going to get ugly," he commented.

"Very ugly," Renesmee agreed.

"There will probably be lots of tantrums from certain vampires."

"Oh, yeah."

"Naming no names, of course."

"Naming no names," Renesmee said, nodding wisely. "But we know that that means Rosalie and Bella."

"Bella likes me," Jacob noted. "She'll get over it. As for Blondie, well… I think I'll just steer clear of her for a while."

"She'll come around," Renesmee said calmly. "She's just a bit overjoyed right now."

Jacob groaned. "Oh, God. Not overjoyed. Anything but overjoyed."

"I'm sure that she's secretly thrilled." Renesmee pulled Jacob's face to hers and planted a light kiss on his lips. Jacob laughed quietly.

"You want the drama, then."

"Hey, you know me," Renesmee intoned, sliding her uninjured arm around the back of his neck. "Drama queen."

Jacob slid a hand around the back of Renesmee's head to cradle it and calmly smothered her mouth with his own burning one. Renesmee exhaled and allowed her eyelids to droop. Yes, this was definitely worth the drama that would ensue. There had always been some consternation in the family about Jacob's tagging along. He had followed her everywhere like an adoring puppy—followed her around the forest, to school, and even to British Columbia after the family had been forced to leave Forks. That one had been particularly chaotic, with much shouting and many tantrums. But in the end, it hadn't mattered. Jacob had followed Renesmee, and Seth had followed Jacob. Emmett had called her "Dog Whisperer" for a month after that. There was worse to come, too. But right now, kissing Jacob, it was difficult to care. Emmett could scoff all he wanted.

Jacob broke from her long enough to snigger. "Oh, yeah. 'Dog Whisperer.' I'd forgotten about that one."

Renesmee blinked and then realized that she had been transmitting images without intending it. Jacob would probably be seeing plenty of pictures from now on. She allowed herself a small smirk before dragging Jacob's mouth back to hers rather roughly.

They carried on, oblivious, until Renesmee realized that she could hear soft footsteps in the forest. She raised her head cautiously, scanning for people. Jacob, noting that her eyes were spinning in their sockets, removed his arm from her shoulders and used it to balance as he shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet.

"What is it?" he asked, his shoulders tensing as he prepared to spring forward.

Renesmee squinted and then sighed in relief. "It's just Seth." The werewolf was walking cautiously towards them, trying not to intrude. A deer carcass was clamped in his massive jaws.

"Thanks, Seth," Renesmee said gratefully, disentangling herself from Jacob and stretching her arms towards the carcass. Seth rolled his eyes and dropped the deer in the dirt unceremoniously. Then, he sat down and waited for her to eat.

Renesmee rolled the deer over so that its back was to her, inspecting it. Seth had not done as neat of a job as she would have liked. Instead of snapping the creature's neck, he had crushed it violently. Splinters of bone were poking through the fur, and the animal was already half-drained.

"Nice killing job," she snorted, poking her fingers into the punctured fur and tearing the skin. Jacob flinched.

"That's gross," he whined.

"Shaddup," Renesmee mumbled around her meal. This was the last time that she would ask a werewolf to fetch food for her. Not only had the job been messy, but the blood was cold.

Jacob made a retching noise and turned his back. Seth laughed. It sounded like he was coughing up a hairball. Renesmee ignored them both, drinking her fill. She could feel herself strengthening. It was nice, even if the blood was cold.

When she had finished, she sighed contentedly and shoved the carcass away. "Sorry," she said to the deer. "Maybe you'll have better luck in your next life."

"Unlikely," Jacob snorted. "We should go back."

"I don't think that I can run," Renesmee admitted. "My head still feels kind of funny."

"'Kay. Seth? Want to help out?"

Seth whined and flopped onto the ground with a sigh, covering his eyes with his front paws.

"I love you, Seth," Renesmee whispered as she swung a leg over his back. Seth sniggered and stuck his enormous tongue out at Jacob, who glared.

"You think it's real funny, don't you?" He leapt lightly onto Seth's back. "Just for that, you can carry us both home."

Seth made an indignant noise as Renesmee broke into peals of laughter.

"Obey the Alpha, Seth," she ordered, smirking broadly. Seth turned his head and took a playful snap at her before leaping over the log that they had been leaning against and running back to the Cullens' opulent home.

"Wow," Jacob murmured in Renesmee's ear. "I can see why you like this."

"It's fun, isn't it?" she laughed, curling her fingers more tightly in Seth's fur. "All the speed, none of the work."

They fell into a silence that was soon broken by the clatter of people running through the trees. There were vampires racing out to meet them—and then running past them, panicked looks on their beautiful faces.

"What's going on?" Jacob asked.

"I guess the party's breaking up," Renesmee replied, her heart sinking. There was only one thing that would send the vampires running like this.

Seth skidded to a halt, sending dirt spraying in a wide arc. Not all of the guests had left. The Irish and Amazon covens remained, along with the Denalis and Benjamin and Tia. They were standing close guard over Amun and his friends. Renesmee's heart sank even further.

"They found out, didn't they?" she asked faintly.

"Yes," Alice said dimly. "The Volturi are on their way."

All of the strength left Renesmee's limbs. She started to slide off of Seth's back, unprepared to catch herself. At the last minute, Jacob flung a broad arm around her waist, preventing her from falling face-first into the dirt.

"Oh, my God," she whimpered as Jacob set her down on the ground and dismounted. "How many are coming? Is everyone coming?"

"That's the weird thing," Alice replied. "They're only sending over three."

"Just three?" Renesmee asked, confused. "But that makes no sense. They couldn't attack us and win."

"Maybe they don't mean to attack," Jacob suggested hopefully.

"Maybe they're just gathering a list of traitors," Amun retaliated. He and his coven –including Lucrezia, who seemed to have recovered her head—were being well-guarded, but that didn't stop them from speaking.

"Quiet," Benjamin snarled. His boyish face could not quite support his murderous expression, but it was evident that now was not the time to trifle with him.

"This is what you get for throwing your lot in with them," Amun continued, not seeming to realize that Benjamin was not in the mood for verbal sparring. "You should have stayed with me."

"Quiet!" Benjamin barked, his hands clenching into fists. As he spoke, there was a low rumble and a slight tremor in the earth. He really was angry. Seth whined nervously and ran away, presumably to transform.

"Why haven't you left?" Renesmee asked Benjamin. "Everyone else has run away."

"I want to see that Amun is judged fairly," Benjamin said in a brittle voice.

"We sent almost everyone away to reduce our numbers, but asked Siobhan and Zafrina to stay," Edward explained, looking up to greet Seth, who was now a human and jogging back to the group. "We thought that their gifts might be useful, and their covens refused to leave them, which is only to be expected. Benjamin and Tia are staying to make sure that Amun is…" his mouth twisted as he searched for a term, "properly taken care of. And the Denalis have graciously agreed to stay with us."

"Of course we did," Tanya said staunchly. "We supported you last time, and we will again."

"That's still a pretty big group," Renesmee said weakly. "And you know that Amun will tell the Volturi that we were planning a rebellion."

"Yes," Alice said, "but Aro won't believe him. I checked." Renesmee was glad to hear the smugness in her tone. She seemed to have recovered.

"Do we know when the Volturi are coming?" she asked.

"Soon. Maybe two hours—no, not even that," Alice replied. "So we don't have much time to prepare. Go brush your hair and change your shirt. I'm not exactly sure what they want, but it can't hurt to give a good impression."

* * *

**A/N: review—or the Volturi will come after YOU!**


	13. Interview With the Vampire

**A/N: the penultimate chapter. Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Instead of waiting at the house for the Volturi, the Cullens and their guests walked out to meet them. It was a very quiet walk, aside from the grousing and shouting of their captives. Renesmee walked with a hand on Jacob's shoulder, her fingers buried in the thick red fur. She was fairly sure that Emmett and Jasper were cracking jokes, but they were at least polite enough to keep their voices low, so that nobody could really hear what they were saying. Somehow, this didn't bother her as much as she thought that it would have. In all honesty, she found their cracks reassuring. Maybe there would be a little less drama than she had anticipated. Maybe not. Renesmee lifted her chin, forcing herself to walk proudly. They would just have to learn to cope.

Edward, who was at the forefront of the group, stopped walking. "Alice thinks that we had best stop here," he announced. "We're far enough away that they shouldn't be able to smell all of the guests that have left. They'll be here in about fifteen minutes."

_Fifteen minutes_, Renesmee thought. _Only fifteen minutes until we're branded as traitors and sentenced to death_. And yet nobody seemed desperate—not even her. After all, if only three vampires were coming, how bad could their intentions be?

Very bad, was the answer. Very, very bad. They were the Vol-freaking-turi. And yet, Renesmee could not help but think that things weren't going to be so awful.

Next to her, Jacob whined nervously. Renesmee stood on her tiptoes and scratched him behind the ears. "Shh. It's okay, Jake. There's only three of them." Jacob snorted, unconvinced.

There was the sound of a disturbance behind them. They turned to see Rosalie edging her way through the crowd.

"Rosalie!" Renesmee waved a hand. Rosalie dodged around Kate and Garrett, who were exchanging emergency plans, and walked swiftly up to them.

"Rosalie, I'm so sorry about earlier," Renesmee began. "I wasn't—"

"Never mind that," Rosalie said hurriedly. Renesmee's eyebrows leapt into her hairline. _Never mind that?_ That was one phrase that Rosalie never used, not even for a minor slight. And something as vehement as her previous outburst would definitely not merit a _never mind that_.

"Rosalie, are you okay?"

"Fine. Here." Rosalie thrust a fat white envelope into Renesmee's hand. "Put that in your pocket. Don't look at it until later, alright?"

"What is it?"

"Just a note," Rosalie replied.

"That's a pretty big note," Renesmee commented. Her eyebrows still hadn't come down to their regular position. "How much did you write?"

"Quite a bit, obviously," Rosalie snapped as a nervous ripple ran through the crowd. Renesmee looked up to see three figures in gray cloaks moving towards them, their hoods down.

"Look, just forget about it for now," Rosalie hissed in her ear. Renesmee nodded and stuffed the envelope into her back pocket, trying to focus on the present problem.

"Why is it," Kate muttered, "that your family is _always_ provoking the Volturi?"

"I honestly don't know," Renesmee replied, not taking her eyes off of the trio. Aro, Marcus, and Jane. Renesmee heard Alice whisper, "I knew it would be them," to whoever was next to her. Probably Jasper.

Carlisle took a tentative step forward. "Hello, Aro," he said politely.

"Carlisle," Aro said, in a warm voice that made Renesmee's skin crawl. "I'm sorry that we've missed most of your guests."

"They just left," Carlisle said mildly. Renesmee could feel anticipation tugging at her heart and sealing her windpipe. Why did everything have to start with banter? It was agonizing to stand on the edge of a fight but be unable to enter it.

"Yes, I thought that they might," Aro replied. "But why were they here at all?"

"There was a party," Carlisle told him. "Many of the people who had met Renesmee seven years ago had expressed a desire to see her grown up, so we decided to make that possible."

"A party!" Aro said delightedly. "What a pity that we missed it. I, too, wanted to see little Renesmee as an adult…" his voice faded as his eyes wandered over to where Renesmee was standing. "And I see that she is all grown up! How are you, Renesmee?"

"Fine, thanks," Renesmee replied, in her most polite tone. "But you can just call me Nessie. Everyone else does."

"Nessie," Aro said pensively. "An odd nickname, that one. Where did you get it?"

"Jacob gave it to me," Renesmee said, nodding towards the wolf next to her.

"I see," Aro said, a disapproving note slipping into his tone.

Renesmee decided to take a risk. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"

Everyone around her stiffened in alarm, but Aro laughed. "Brave girl, aren't you, Nessie? Well, since you are honest with me, I will be honest with you—and I'm sure that Maggie will be happy to tell you that I am sincere."

Maggie looked stone-faced. Aro continued on regardless.

"We are here for two reasons. The first is to investigate the cause of this gathering, and I believe that dear Carlisle has been honest. The second, and more important reason, is you."

"Me?" Renesmee echoed nervously. "Why me?"

"Again, it is for two reasons. We wished to make sure that we had not made a… mistake in allowing you to live." An angry murmur ran through the crowd, which Aro dismissed with a wave of his hand. "And I wished to give you a birthday present."

Renesmee blinked, convinced that she had heard incorrectly. "A birthday present? But it's not my birthday."

"Yes, I'm afraid that we have missed it." Aro sighed theatrically and pulled a mournful face. "None of us are sure when you were born, you see. Since we don't know the real date, I thought that it might be celebrated on the day that we met you." He pulled a flat black box from somewhere in his gray robe.

Renesmee looked around, hoping that someone would give her a cue. There was a short, awkward silence.

"Go on, Nessie," Edward finally said, a little warily.

_Very reassuring_, Renesmee thought nervously, stepping out of the crowd. Jacob twitched, anxious to follow, but Edward held up a hand. His expression was as pleading as it was severe. Interesting combination of emotions.

Renesmee crossed the short distance between her family and the Volturi. Aro smiled, ever avuncular, and handed her the box. It was hinged and covered in velvet. A jewel case.

"Uh… thanks," Renesmee said awkwardly.

"Go on," Aro encouraged. "Open it."

Renesmee weighed the box in her hands tentatively. Whatever it was, it wasn't alive. That was a small comfort. She wedged a nail into the crack that ran around the box and pried it open. Inside was a simple necklace—a whisper-thin gold chain adorned with a fist-sized ruby that had been cut into a teardrop.

"Wow," Renesmee stuttered. "Thanks."

"I thought that the gem would bring out the red in your hair," Aro said, smiling affectedly. Marcus and Jane were also smiling, although theirs seemed a bit more forced. It was very unnerving. Renesmee wanted to slam the lid down before the necklace bit her, but that seemed rude, so she lifted it up by its chain, which looked far too delicate to support such a large stone.

"It's beautiful," she said honestly.

"Go on, try it on."

Renesmee handed the jewelry box back to Aro, feeling a bit breathless. "Hold that for me?" Aro laughed and nodded, so Renesmee unclasped the necklace and fastened it around her neck. It felt like a weight.

"Well, I think that it looks quite good," Aro said, looking pleased as he handed the box back to her. "Don't you agree, Jane?"

"Fabulous," Jane said flatly.

"Now, forgive me for switching over to business matters so quickly," Aro continued, apparently deaf to Jane's sarcasm, "but I seem to remember that you are able to communicate nonverbally. Have you lost that gift, or do you choose to speak to me aloud?"

"It's a choice," Renesmee replied. "I can communicate telepathically, if you'd prefer that."

"I would like that," Aro said, looking delighted. "I would also, if you are willing, like to access your thoughts."

Renesmee swallowed, even more unnerved. She had heard about Aro and his talent, and she didn't like the idea of having her thoughts and memories rifled through. But it was probably better to humor him than to defy him.

"Okay," she said, a touch squeakily, and held out her hand. Aro smiled and took it in both of his. After just a few moments, he dropped her hand again. "Well, Renesmee, it seems that you have not caused any trouble these past seven years, so there is no need to regret allowing you to live." He sounded almost disappointed. Renesmee tried to maintain her composure.

"Thanks," she said weakly.

"But what on earth happened to you earlier today?" Aro continued, with a rather fake bewildered expression. "Your memories tell me that you were attacked by your friends."

"They aren't _my_ friends," Renesmee retorted, an indignant spark puncturing her fear. She then remembered that Aro had wanted her to communicate telepathically, so she cringed and put a hand to his face. It seemed uncommonly cold, even for a vampire. Renesmee recounted her tale in the simplest pictures possible, trying to make sure that Aro understood. Amun and his coven all wore frowning faces, and Seth and Jacob seemed particularly heroic. It would seem like she had a toddler's mentality, but Aro had not had any practice in deciphering her pictures.

"Forgive me if I misunderstand," Aro said. "Am I to assume that this man and his friends attacked you because they wished that you had been killed?"

Renesmee nodded. "They all lost someone because of immortal children. They think that my family has been given special privileges."

Aro's mouth settled into a thin line, and his tone became slightly sardonic. "Well, they were obviously unsuccessful. What a good thing that you had your furry friends with you."

"Yes," Renesmee said firmly, showing him a picture of two very friendly and heroic werewolves. "It is."

Aro looked from Marcus to Jane and then back to Renesmee. "Well, do as you will with them," he finally said. "We did not come here to kill."

Maggie snorted softly.

"But as soon as you have disposed of them, break up your party," Aro ordered, his voice hardening into a commanding tone. "It's too noticeable."

"Sure," Renesmee mumbled. "No problem. Thank you again for the gift."

Aro's face grew sugary again. "I'm glad that you like it. Perhaps we shall visit you in the future."

"Perhaps," Renesmee responded, hoping that her horror was not plastered all over her face. Aro nodded graciously, and then he, Marcus, and Jane turned their backs and walked away, ever stately and deliberate. Renesmee wished that they would move faster. She wished that they would run all the way back to Italy and never bother her family again. But that seemed unlikely.

As soon as they had vanished through the trees, Renesmee turned and scuttled back to her family, yanking off the necklace as she went. She crashed into Edward's arms, gulping down air.

"You behaved pretty stupidly, Nessie," her father informed her. But there was no venom in his rebuke.

"I'm good at that," Renesmee replied shakily, turning to hug Bella.

"We've noticed," Bella said, crushing Renesmee's lungs.

"Thanks. Thanks for everything. Everyone. I mean it." Renesmee seemed to be laughing and choking at the same time. She was so relieved that it hurt—but in a good way.

"So… so now that that's over…" Renesmee brought herself under control and looked around at the crowd. "What should we do with them?" She pointed at Amun's coven.

Everyone looked at them stonily, and Renesmee knew what would happen to Amun, Lucrezia, Thomas, Caroline, and Caroline's mate.

"We'll just move them to the border of our territory," Emmett said. Only the very dim would have believed him.

"Sounds like a good plan," Edward agreed. "Who wants to help us?"

It seemed that nearly everyone did.

* * *

**A/N: review and receive a puppy!**


	14. Cheese

**A/N: the last chapter. Thank you so much, everyone, for reading and leaving such kind reviews!**

* * *

"So, did you ever read my note?" Rosalie asked. It was two days after the incident had passed. All of their guests had left, and Rosalie was currently amusing herself by brushing Renesmee's hair while Renesmee waited for her toenails to dry.

"Shoot!" Renesmee slapped her forehead. "I forgot all about that. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Rosalie said smugly as she parted Renesmee's hair. "There was no note in there, anyways. I said that to make sure that Aro wouldn't find out what it really was when he read your thoughts."

"You knew he'd do that?"

"He does that to everyone," she replied. "I was hoping that he wouldn't interview me or Edward. But he didn't, so it's all alright."

"So, what was in there?"

"A credit card," Rosalie said, twisting small clips into Renesmee's hair, "about three hundred dollars in cash, and the fake passports that Bella got for you and the mutt the last time the Volturi came. I replaced your old picture with your latest school photo."

"Trying to get rid of me?" Renesmee teased.

"Hardly," Rosalie sniffed, injured. "But I figured that it was better safe than sorry. If necessary, we could have held them off while Jacob and Vanessa _Wolfe_ made a getaway."

"Good thinking," Renesmee said gratefully. "I'd better fish that envelope out of my pocket before those jeans go through the wash, though."

"You probably should," Rosalie agreed. "Those passports weren't cheap, you know."

"Oh, like money really matters in this family."

"Point taken. Speaking of money, what did you do with the necklace that Aro gave you?"

"I wanted to throw it away," Renesmee admitted. "But Bella talked me out of it, just in case the Volturi ever come back. She still has the necklace that Aro gave her."

"I noticed," Rosalie said simply. She paused as she fluffed Renesmee's hair. "Okay. You're finished. Now do me."

"'Kay." Renesmee took the brush from Rosalie and stood up, admiring herself in Rosalie's vanity mirror. Rosalie slid from her stool, and Renesmee took her place, still observing her reflection.

"Nice job," she commented idly.

"Thank you. I admire honesty." Rosalie paused, and they both laughed. Renesmee began to run the brush through Rosalie's long blonde hair.

"So?" Rosalie asked, glancing up at her.

"So what?"

"Don't you want to know what happened to Amun and his little psychotic coven?"

"I can guess," Renesmee sighed, her smile slipping by a few teeth. "You didn't drag it out too long, did you?"

"Hardly. With your furry friends with us, I had to fight to even get a piece of the action."

Renesmee threw her head back and laughed delightedly. "My furry friends? You were running with the pack!"

"Tell anyone, half-breed, and I swear I will kill you."

"I'm terrified," Renesmee said dryly, exchanging the hairbrush for a comb.

"Everyone else was doing it," Rosalie whined theatrically.

"It's fun, isn't it?"

"Maybe for you," she snorted. "I may have to burn my clothes and shave my head in order to get rid of the stink. But you don't seem to mind smelling like a dog."

Renesmee tried to ignore her jibe. "No," she answered, "and you'd better get used to it, too. I'll probably smell like Jacob a lot from now on, between one thing and another."

Rosalie started to snigger uncontrollably.

"Shut up!" Renesmee yelled, smacking the top of Rosalie's head with the comb. It snapped in two. "That's not what I meant! Shut up!" This only made Rosalie laugh more.

"Well, what did you mean, then?" she spluttered.

"I just—" Renesmee thought for a moment and realized that she didn't know what she had meant. "Why are you asking me about what I mean?" she demanded, trying to change the subject. "How should I know?"

"I don't know," Rosalie snickered. Renesmee took a moment to be annoyed and then decided to let it go.

"Well, at least you can laugh about it," she mumbled, resuming her combing with what was left of the comb. "A few days ago, you would have been planning a few untimely deaths."

"I might be," Rosalie replied, her tone gaining weight with alarming rapidity. "And don't think that I'm happy about this arrangement, either. I'm absolutely disgusted that you've chosen that _thing_."

"I know," Renesmee said, keeping her voice as level as possible, "but that's how it is."

Rosalie paused uncomfortably and then switched the subject. "Hey, did you notice?"

"Notice what?" Renesmee asked distractedly. She was still nursing her wounded ego. Why couldn't anyone just be happy for her and Jacob?

"Well, for one thing, you're talking."

"Yeah," Renesmee said, pushing bobby pins into Rosalie's hair. "I'm thinking I might pick up the habit. Make sure that my vocal cords don't atrophy."

"It's kind of nice to hear your voice," Rosalie said. "Nice to know what you're really thinking."

"I don't always say what I think."

"Neither do I. But, anyways—have you noticed that we're behaving like sisters?"

"I did notice," Renesmee admitted. "It's really nice."

There was a silence. Eventually Rosalie said, in a rather small voice, "Uh… I'm sorry that I've been so… you know."

"Yeah. Me too."

"It was just that…"

"Totally. Totally."

Rosalie laughed. "That has to be the lamest conversation ever. 'You know, me too, totally.' We sure can articulate."

"If you'd like to grovel instead, I wouldn't say no."

"As if!" They both laughed loudly at the absurdity of the image. Renesmee smoothed the top of Rosalie's head. "Done," she announced.

Rosalie stood and pouted in the mirror. "Nice job."

"Thanks," Renesmee cracked. "I admire honesty."

"Whatever. Want to come with me to the mall?"

Renesmee dithered for a moment and then shook her head, smiling apologetically and hoping that the friendly atmosphere wouldn't be killed. "Thanks, but I promised Jake and Seth that I'd run with them for a bit. Maybe later?"

Rosalie looked hurt for a split second and then nodded resignedly. "Okay. That's okay. I can put off my trip until later, I guess." She looked so disappointed that Renesmee felt a need to justify herself.

"I promised," she pointed out.

"You spend all of your time with them," Rosalie complained.

"They're my friends, too," Renesmee said simply. "I'll run with them now, and shop with you later. I have room in my life for all of you. Please can you share me?"

"Fine," Rosalie groaned. "I'll be ready to go at five. Don't be late, or I might take offense."

"I've got my watch." Renesmee hugged Rosalie briefly and skittered down the stairs, leaping down the last six. She pushed the door open and bounced out into the overcast afternoon. Seth and Jacob were on the lawn. They appeared to be shoving each other around in a mock fight.

Renesmee rolled her eyes. "What is it with boys?" she demanded aloud.

They both looked up and grinned at her.

"Hello to you, too," Seth said dryly.

Renesmee laughed. She kissed Seth on the cheek and Jacob on the mouth, and indicated to both that she was ready to go. The there of them began to walk towards the forest.

"Hey," Jacob said quietly. "How are you doing with the whole 'one-of-a-kind' thing?"

"I think I'm alright, for now," Renesmee replied.

"So, no more wishing to be a full vampire?"

"Not at the moment." Renesmee shuddered and touched the scar along her arm. "My brush with vampirism has made it rather unattractive."

"No more glitter?" Seth joked.

"No glitter," Renesmee promised.

"No feelings of loneliness?" Jacob was getting theatric. "No sense of abandonment in a sea of adults?"

"Nope!" Renesmee slung an arm around each of her friends' broad, bare shoulders. They were so tall that she had to walk on her toes to remain that way. "For the moment, I'm pretty drama-free. That won't last, of course, but I'll take what I can get."

"Good," Jacob said, looking more pleased than was really necessary. "And, hey, like you said: sometimes it's nice to be unique."

"Yeah," Renesmee agreed. "Right now, being one-of-a-kind seems just fine to me."

They grinned stupidly at each other until Seth groaned hugely.

"I really hate cheesy endings," he moaned, rolling his eyes.

"Me, too," Renesmee quipped. "All of this sunshine is piercing my protective black cloud and rending my very soul. Oh, the pain, the unbearable torment."

"Know what else I hate? Sarcasm."

"I know," Renesmee said smugly. "But I'm afraid that I'm having one of those really cheesy Kodak moments, and you're ruining it with your anti-cheese sentiments. What are you, lactose intolerant?"

"Not lactose," Seth corrected, a delighted look replacing his already sunny one. "_Lachrymose_. I'm _lachrymose_ intolerant. So I can't watch soap operas. And you two—" he looked extremely pleased with himself, "—are, like, the cheesiest soap opera ever. If this nauseatingly happy exchange goes on much longer, I'm going to suffer an allergic reaction."

Jacob reached over and smacked the side of Seth's face with his hand. "Shut it, vocabulary man. Let Nessie have her cheesefest."

"Oww. Nessie, Jacob's abusing his power as Alpha."

"Hit him again!" Nessie squealed, enjoying the moment. "Anti-cheese heathen!" She drove her point home by giving Seth a good shove. He shoved her back, and she crashed into Jacob, who was already apoplectic with laughter. Renesmee and Seth joined in, and the noise bounced off of the trees until it sounded like the whole forest was laughing with them.

_Yes, it's cheesy_, Renesmee thought, as she watched Jacob and Seth shove each other around and break the ferns under their careless feet. _But it's best this way_.

* * *

**A/N: thank you again for your reviews. Feel free to donate one last one to the cause, because reviewers get cheese!**


End file.
